Aria: The Heart and the Mask
by ice73
Summary: A collection of stories set after Navigation 60.
1. Letter to a Friend

Aria: The Heart and the Mask

_Letter to a Friend_

_Zen rya ku—_

_How are you, pen pal? It's been quite a while since I've written you, hasn't it? I'm so sorry about that! Things have been very busy around here in Aria Company. A lot of customers have been signing up with us, and I've met some interesting people. Neo-Venezia _does_ attract all kinds, doesn't it? Not just a wee 15-year-old with stars in her eyes. I've met grumpy people, sad people, and happy people since Spring started. I like to think I've given them a little peace of mind and the happiness that Aqua can bring. Happy memories, like the ones the Three Water Fairies could give their passengers . . . ._

_The wonderful thing that happened continues to happen. Ai continues to improve in her skills as an undine. Much has transpired since I took her glove off this Spring. I see myself in her—and I don't mean the parts of me that silly Aika keeps harping on about. Sometimes I am reminded Alicia and Grandma when I find myself out in the lagoon, training with Ai, talking with her, and I wonder if the things I'm thinking of were the same things going through Alicia's mind when she was training me. It is humbling to think that I'm part of such a distinguished line; I can't help but feel proud of it as well. When I set my entire life on Man-Home aside to become an undine, I sometimes wondered during the early days if I had made the right choice. But when our dear Snow White asked me to set my course long ago as part of my Prima test, I already knew by then where I wanted to go, where to point my prow, what to answer; I've never regretted my decision. And I've never been so happy. _

_I wonder if this is the thing people call destiny. If so, then it's something that's been very good to me. I've met wonderful new people here and found my place under the stars. Years of being at the helm of Aria Company haven't diminished the awe that I feel at being responsible for something people like Grandma created. _

_And now I'm responsible for someone else. Not only do I pass on what I know to her, I help her with her homework, I remind her about the things she needs to do. I even give her advice on boys—as if I had any experience with them (Akatsuki doesn't count!). I really does make me feel like I'm her older sister _:) _Or, as Aika suggested once, her mom.(!)_

_Well, I guess I can only try and be as good a teacher to her as Alicia was to me. Just yesterday Aika and Alice were questioning me—no, _interrogating_ me—about my plans for Ai. No pressure, right? Friend, and now student and colleague. The future of the company. No pressure at all. Hahiii . . . ._

_Let me tell you one of the things that happened just before Ai became a Single. It was early autumn . . . ._

"Senior! Hey, Senior! Are you ready? We're going to miss the regatta!"

Looking up from her typing, the young woman with the long pink hair waved out the bay window spanning the entire front of Aria Company. "I'll be right there, Ai dear!"

Akari Mizunashi shut her laptop and placed it in a drawer. Then she went to the side door and opened it, stepping out into a world of blinding blue.

At the left side of the Aria Company building was a ramp that wound its way into the water. At its foot a white gondola with blue deck trim and rails waited, bobbing gently in the calm water. Standing on the aft deck was a young woman wearing a white uniform also trimmed in blue. She reached out as Akari crossed the walkway and came down.

"Please take my hand," she said as she assisted the elder undine aboard. "Do you want me to drive?"

"It's alright, Ai dear." Akari placed a hand on the beret that the younger woman wore and gave it a caress. "I'll take us to San Marco."

Ai looked up at the company office. "President Aria?"

"Went off with President Hime about fifteen minutes ago," replied Akari. "I don't think we'll—"

"_Puinyuuu!_"

Something large and white and four-footed scampered out from behind the building and barreled straight towards them. They stood aghast as it launched itself into the air from the top of the ramp, aiming directly for Ai.

In an instant Ai turned and caught ten kilos of frantic fur in her arms. She staggered backward, but Akari's arm restrained her and kept her from falling into the water.

"President Aria!" the Pair exclaimed. "What in the world's gotten into you?"

The answer shot out from behind the building. Small and tortoiseshell-colored, it followed the path the company's namesake had taken.

"_Maa!_" It ran down the ramp and jumped onto the gondola, scrabbling at Ai's legs, trying to climb them. President Aria squirmed fearfully in Ai's arms.

"President Maa, how are you?" Akari knelt down and scooped the cat up in a hand. "What are you doing here?"

"She was with me," came a voice. Akari and Ai looked up to see Alice Carroll, an undine working for another company, walking to the edge of the ramp. Her light green hair was windblown and she looked a little breathless. "We were going back to Orange Planet when she saw President Aria with President Hime. I was too near the canal edge. The rest you can guess."

Akari smiled and handed Maa back to her keeper. "Hello, Alice."

Alice scolded the cat before replying to Akari. "Going to the regatta too?"

The Aquamarine nodded. "And you?"

"Ditto. I'm on my way to pick up my passengers near the Rialto."

"Why don't we go together? We're on our way to San Marco. Let's meet at the number 16 _bricola_ in two hours or so."

"Hmm . . . sure, why not? Better than going alone with all those other boats sure to be there." The prodigy smiled and fanned herself with a hand. "Whew! It's hot."

"I'm so sorry you had to chase after the cats," Akari apologized. "As I'm sure President Aria is, too." She paused as the cat nodded, still keeping an eye on Maa in Alice's arms. "How about dinner somewhere afterward? My treat."

Alice smiled. "That'll certainly make up for the long distance I had to run."

They set the time and place, and as the young Prima took her leave and headed back between the buildings lining the waterfront behind Aria Company, Akari turned and patted President Aria's back. "Shall we go then?"

The cat let out a trembling, relieved "_Nyuu_."

They headed down the wide channel to Marco Polo Spaceport, then San Marco, Akari rowing a little faster than usual because she knew there would be a lot of jostling for viewing places before the regatta, and she wanted pick her passengers up early to get first dibs on the best location.

Their passengers turned out to be a salt-and-pepper-haired gentleman in a dark suit and bow tie and a striking young woman about Ai's age, dressed in dark brown slacks and a slate-gray vest with many little pearled buttons over a puffed-sleeve, lace-fringed shirt. He was alive with curiosity and excitement, gray eyes lit up as he conversed with Akari, but she glowered, black thunder and grumbling, smoldering foulness written all over her face.

They an hour touring the city, then headed out into the channel, making for the bricola. The sun was already westering, and on the glittering waters they could make out many little black shapes in the distance.

Ai pointed to their left. "Miss Akari, I think that's Miss Alice."

Akari squinted. "Yes, it's her. Sir, this is the companion I was talking to you about. If you'll allow it, we will meet up for a minute at that spot." She pointed to the tall pile of wooden stakes standing some distance off in the lagoon.

"Sure, go ahead," the man, whose name was Mr. Hinglef, said.

"Thank you."

Alice's white gondola came closer. Standing on the deck like she had belonged there all her life, the green-haired _undine_ waved once. Akari waved back.

"Good afternoon," Alice called as their boat came alongside. "Just in time. What are your plans?"

"We're going to get a spot near the finish line," said Akari.

"Ah, we'll be going to the middle of the crowd." Alice brushed her hair away from her face. "I guess we won't be going together after all."

"Not unless your guests–" Akari smiled and nodded at the couple seated in Alice's gondola "–are willing to try something different."

"Oh? What's that?"

----------oOo----------

"This is a neat lookout!" exclaimed the brunette as Alice helped her up the last step. They were on an outcrop of rock in the middle of the sea, rising up like a ruined tower from a fantasy tale of old. "How come we're the only ones here?" Less than fifty meters away from them lay part of the 400-meter regatta course, crowded on one side by boats of every stripe and shape.

"Well, until yesterday everyone thought a camera crew would be using this point, so no one thought of asking," Akari explained as she helped Mr. Hinglef up the steepest portion of the flight of stairs. He held on to her as they climbed; at one point he wavered, his footing a little unsure.

"Careful, sir," Akari cautioned, holding on to his shoulders. Mr. Hinglef looked down at the fifteen-meter drop to the rocky shore below and instinctively leaned against his guide. He thought he smelled jasmine as she brushed against him, mingling with the cool salt air.

"There's no rush," she was saying. "We can sit here and rest. The race won't start for a while yet."

"No, no, I'm fine. Never had a head for heights, that's all," the old man insisted. He grasped the inner railing and continued ahead of Akari. "Just don't make me look down, I'll be okay."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know!" was all Akari could say as she helped him up the last few steps. Clearly she had made a blunder, not foreseeing this development.

"It's no big thing!" Mr. Hinglef exclaimed. "Come now, Miss Mizunashi, hold my hand. Up! Look, here we are! You're right, Miss, it _is_ a magnificent view," he said, addressing Alice's passenger.

In the distance lay the city, a lonely outpost on the water, its roofs upthrust against the vault of the heavens. On the flat top of the promontory stood—of all things—a table and a couple of folding chairs.

"Senior," said Alice, gesturing at the equipment, a question in her voice.

"Well, I sort of had a talk with one of the committee in charge the day before yesterday, and I found out the crew wasn't going to use this place any more. So I thought it'd be a waste if no one came here." Akari grinned sheepishly.

The three _undine_ made their guests comfortable as they waited for the regatta to start. It was left to Ai to make the trips up and down the stairs, first to get the picnic basket and eatables her mentor had stowed in the rear compartment of the gondola, and then to get blankets and carry President Aria up.

Presently the race started with a literal bang, as a flare soared into the sky and a _pop_ sounded across the water. Dozens of sleek, small boats, each rowed by two men in tandem, churned the water with their oars as they strove to reach the end of the line, turn, and then race back to the starting point. Mr. Hinglef cheered loudly as they crossed the outcrop, explaining that one of the boaters was a relative of his. His companion, the glowering girl, softened her attitude a bit and made several appreciative comments about the view. Alice's pair of riders—well, they shared in the excitement and the food, but we all know that people in love are in a world of their own making, so smitten with each other that they have little time to deal with people who exist outside it . . . . They were there but they weren't really _there_. Ai noticed this and, being a teenager herself, wondered what being in love must be like in between the cheering and serving and tidying up.

On the second pass, Ai forgot all about her musing and, forgetting herself, stood up and shouted. "Hey, isn't—Miss Akari, Miss Alice, look!" She pointed. "It's Miss Aika!"

Akari turned her attention towards Ai's enthusiastically stabbing finger. "It is!"

"A friend of yours?" asked the man who was Alice's passenger.

"Yes, it is." She served them some peach wine and went back to the table behind their seats, where she found Akari giggling to herself.

"I can't believe it's the Al we know," she whispered as she arranged some crepes on a platter. "How did Aika ever convince him to go rowing?"

"Senior Aika is a woman of much talent," Alice pontificated, grinning.

But evidently those talents lay elsewhere, because when the race ended four minutes later, the two weren't even in the top fifteen . . . .

----------oOo----------

There was one more heat, this time for gondolas. The flat-topped _mascarete_ with their rowers withdrew to the audience side, while the gondoliers assembled at the same departure point that the previous racers had used. It was won by a lad from Murano island. Following his victory, prizes were awarded on a barge set centrally in the audience portion and fireworks sent sizzling into the darkening sky.

The group watched the fireflowers hissing and crackling in the air above their heads.

"They're so pretty," Alice's passenger said. She flinched when one rocket exploded loudly and laughed.

"Yes, well, I guess it's almost time we go," Mr. Hinglef said, rising from his seat. "This day has been very exciting and all, but now it's getting a bit dark and I would like to get some rest."

"Of course," Akari said. She and Ai started packing up what little remained to be cleaned.

It was over in a few minutes. Lamps were beginning to be lit among the spectators' craft, and they could see a few of these pulling away from the crowd.

The couple wanted to stay a few more minutes, so Akari and Ai had to say goodbye to Alice. She asked about the table and chairs, and Akari winked at her.

"Don't worry about them. Woody will pass by tomorrow."

The Aquamarine descended the stairs first with Mr. Hinglef, and Alice returned to stay near her customers. That left Ai, President Aria, and Diana, Mr. Hinglef's niece, alone on top of the stairs.

"Hey, um, look," the brunette hedged. Below them the surf sounded, as it had for the last 100-odd years. "I'm sorry I was such a grouch today."

Ai smiled a little smile. "It's alright. Do you feel better now?"

Diana nodded. "Could I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Hey, I was right. Same here. And you're working as an _undine_, right?"

"I'm training to be one."

"And you like it?"

Ai nodded.

"Gosh, it's hard to stay mad with all this fresh air and good food," Diana gushed. "You're happy doing what you're doing, right? I mean, I can tell. It shows."

"I am."

"You're so lucky." Some of the animation seemed to leave the girl, and she stood on the steps and looked out to sea. "It wasn't my idea to come here, you know. I mean, the city. There was something very important to me back at Man-home, and I had to leave it to accompany my Grandfather here. So, um, that's why I was so pissed off this morning. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Miss Hinglef." Ai sensed the other girl wanted to say more, but she held her peace and did not inquire.

President Aria made a noise, and both girls looked down to see him tugging on the hem of the junior gondolier's skirt, signaling that he wanted to be carried.

"Oh, President Aria, you should walk down," Ai said affectionately, hoisting him up. "The exercise will do you good."

"Um, hey. Could I—could I be the one to carry him?"

"Huh? Well . . . what do you think, President Aria?"

"_Puipuinyu. Puipui._"

"He agrees." Ai handed him over to Diana, and the two excused themselves from Alice and went down, where Akari and Mr. Hinglef were waiting for them.

"All set?" the pink-haired gondolier asked. They chorused in the affirmative, and they all boarded the gondola. Akari expertly guided their boat out of the lee of the island and headed back to Neo-Venezia.

They were passing though a calm and isolated stretch of water when something huge glided by silently under their gondola.

"What was that?"

"Ah!" Akari said, peering into the water. "A giant ray. Don't worry, it's harmless."

The massive animal circled them several times. It was far bigger than their craft. Then it lifted a wing and slapped the water's surface with it several times before turning away and vanishing into the gathering gloom.

"Do you see them much around here?" Mr. Hinglef asked, wide-eyed.

"No, they usually don't come this close to the city. This is the first time I've seen one personally. You must be favored by fate to receive such a visit from a rare animal."

"You think so?" Mr. Hinglef laughed heartily as they continued on their way. "That really tickles me pink. Favored by fate. You have a way with words, Miss Mizunashi." When they parted at the docks near the cathedral, Ai was sure his and Diana's "we had a pleasant time today" was heartfelt.

----------oOo----------

"Sorry I'm late," Orange Planet's wonder gondolier apologized as she ran up to her friends at the Piazetta of San Marco some time later. Nighttime had come and claimed this part of Aqua as its own, and the streets were alive with the yellow and silver light of lamps and the bustle of people. "What are you doing hiding behind that pillar?"

Akari's hand shot out and yanked Alice behind the colonnade. "Look!" she hissed, pointing. "Over there."

Alice slowly peeked out. To her right was the rest of the Square; to her left were the lagoon and the columns bearing the statues of Saint Mark's lion and Saint Theodore on his crocodile. Straight ahead of her, under one of the lamp posts fronting the opposite side of the Piazetta, stood the two boaters they had seen rowing vigorously during the race. One was dressed in the dark clothing of a Gnome, one of the people who worked underground and maintained Aqua's gravity; the other, taller figure was a dark-haired girl wearing yellow jumpers and large bangles around her wrists.

"And? I fail to see why we need to—oh goodness!" Alice swallowed. She withdrew and looked at the Aria Company employees. "I guess now wouldn't be a good time to disturb them."

"_Puinyu!_"

Ai giggled. "Senior Alice, she'd never forgive us if we barged in on them."

"Let's give them some privacy." Akari gestured away from the Piazetta. "It's a precious moment for them."

Alice frowned. "Senior, you really do say embarrassing things."

"What?"

"Well, seeing as how Senior Aika isn't here to remind you, I thought I'd do it. Saying embarrassing things is prohibited!"

Akari chuckled. Ever since Athena Glory, Alice's mentor, had traded in her _undine_ uniform and gondola for stage dress and bright lights, she and Alice had grown closer together. How could they not? Both of them were bereft of seniors they cared about, both had few close friends, both had shared the same joys and sorrows as training partners. It was good to see the normally reticent girl joke and smile. "Let's go. I know a place that makes good pasta. It's this way." As they all beat a retreat into the less well-lighted portions of the colonnade, she added, "Be kind to Aika, alright? Don't tease her or Al about this."

"Roger," said Alice.

"I won't," agreed Ai, her cheeks red for some reason.

They kept silent for several seconds, mingling with the tourists and locals who made the vicinity such an interesting place to visit. Then Akari stopped walking and looked back.

"Not unless," she amended, tittering, "not unless it becomes too much to keep in." Finally she gave in and laughed. "They're so cute!"

The other two_ undine_ joined her merry noisemaking, causing passerby to look curiously at them.

----------oOo----------

"Achoo!"

"Al? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's probably just the damp air." The bespectacled young man smiled sheepishly. "You know, for a split second I had the strangest feeling someone was talking about us . . . ."

"Stop talking like a superstitious old man. Let me keep rubbing your back to make sure. I'm really sorry I bullied you into participating and tired you out." Warm arms encircled the Gnome and stroked his back again.

"I'm alright. Just give me a few minutes."

"You're not just saying that, are you?" asked Aika S. Granzchesta, heiress of the Himeya Company of gondoliers, as she continued her brisk ministrations.

"You didn't bully me. I wanted to come along. It was interesting. Thanks for dinner." Albert Pitt breathed in Aika's perfume. "You smell nice."

Aika pulled away from him. "Really? T-thanks. You didn't do so bad at the oars, you know, for someone with very little practice."

Al nodded and looked up at the stars. He must've been feeling chilly; his cheeks were pinkish, Aika noted.

"Well, I think I can go now."

"I'll walk with you back to the entrance."

The next morning the three employees of Aria Company were just finishing breakfast when someone appeared at the open window.

"Hello again. So sorry to disturb you."

"Miss Diana!" Akari stood up. "Won't you join us?"

"No thanks. I'm in a hurry, actually. I . . . I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about yesterday. Here, I brought a little something for you." The girl in the sea-green pencil skirt and blue blouse laid two round metal containers on the counter.

"You were no trouble at all," Akari said. "Though I was sad that we couldn't seem to reach you, at first. You're feeling better now?"

"Much better." Diana blinked and looked at Ai. There was moisture in her eyes. "When I saw that you were making my grandfather happy . . . . I realized how selfish I've been acting lately." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "He is ill, and coming here was his wish. No one else could come with him, so I had to. Thank you for making him happier than I've ever seen him for the last couple of months." Diana inclined her head for a moment. "N-now I have to go."

"Catch your breath for a moment—"

"Oh, no, I really must. It's a long way to the hotel and I've got to get back before he discovers I've left . . . ."

"Wait, I'll take you there!" Ai volunteered. "It'll be faster than walking."

"But you can't do that—"

"I'm taking you as a friend, not a customer."

"Ai-chan, school . . . ."

"I won't be late, Miss Akari."

"Alright. Off you go, then."

The Aquamarine untied and readied their black gondola as her charge gathered up her things and led Diana to the craft.

"So, give me your hand . . . see you later, Senior Akari."

Akari leaned on the rail and waved as the boat pulled away. Beside her, President Aria did the same.

"President Aria, I don't know why, but I feel very content just now," she confided. She chuckled when the cat pointed to his belly. "No, I don't think it's the food. I'm just happy that I'm here, where I am, with everyone. I'm happy seeing Ai grow up. It's kind of hard to explain . . . ."

The phone rang, and Akari went and answered it. Outside, the sky was a brilliant blue shot through with the bright yellow of the morning sun; it promised to be another fine day.


	2. The Heart

Aria (c) Kozue Amano, Comic Blade, Hal Film Maker.

* * *

**Author's Note:** For those who read the previous chapter 2, my apologies. I am thinking of turning this into a collection of stories rather than one whole story. Aria is one tough title to write for--I think I'd rather be trying to do scrimshaw at night with gloves while being fired upon by rocket batteries.

* * *

**_The Heart_**

_For us repeopl'd were the solitary shore._

_ -Lord George Gordon Byron, 1826_

It was a day that started like any other, except that it didn't occur on Earth. The solitary _undine_-in-training of Aria Company, emerging from a restful visit to Death's brother, woke to find a huge face on her left, looking at her. Startled, she pulled away from the sight, only to fall inelegantly off her bed, injuring a delicate part of her anatomy in the process.

"Ow-ow-ow," she groaned as she clambered back upright, resting her head and hands on the bedcovers. "Good morning, President Aria."

"_Puipuinyu_," the company boss answered quietly as he bowed from his oh-so-comfy place among the sheets.

Ai got off the floor, rubbing her derriere.

"_Pui?_"

Ai chuckled. "No, I'm okay—"

"Ai-chan?" came a voice from the stairwell near the bed. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Senior Akari," the green-haired trainee called. "Good morning."

"Morning. Did something fall?"

"Yes. Me."

Steps sounded as Ai's mentor came up. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Still woozy, Ai jerked a thumb at the cat in her bed. "Yeah, I just got surprised by President Aria . . . . you're here early."

"No, on time. I have a couple who want to see the sunrise off San Giorgio, remember?"

"Oh." Ai blinked. "Oh! Oh no! Let me just jump in the shower–"

"It's okay, you've got school this morning. Did you forget that too?" The senior _undine_ chuckled and caught Ai by the shoulders. "Wake up, sleepyhead!"

The left strap of Ai's white chemise drooped and fell down her shoulder as she looked, confounded, at Akari. Akari plucked it up and restored it to its rightful place. Ai's cat hat was also askew, and this the Prima also fixed. She grinned.

"Go back to sleep. Don't be late for school, okay?" Akari let go of her student, who stayed stock-still as a statue. "Ai-chan?"

"Akari, I'm so sorry!" the Pair burst out. "I'm terrible!"

"Now don't go overreacting, it's alright. You just overslept, that's all."

"You should've woken me up then! I'm sorry!" Ai wailed. In situations like this, it was understood that she would be the one to prepare breakfast for Akari, and see to the white gondola. It was her duty as a trainee. "W-was that why you were sleeping so close to me, President Aria?"

"Nyu." The cat nodded from his place in the bed, where he was busy tangling himself up in the sheets. Swathed in bedcloth, he performed a complicated pantomime, the gist of which was _I was shaking you, but you stayed asleep._

After watching their company president's performance, Ai and Akari looked at each other.

"Akari-saaaan—" the teary-eyed junior began to wail again.

"Well, I couldn't bring myself to wake you, you looked so cute asleep," Akari admitted, smiling. "I've made some eggs and toast, and the teapot's on the boil. Now let me use your washroom and clean my teeth before the guests arrive."

As the older woman disappeared into the small room at the further end of Ai's quarters, the green-hair girl sank back down on the bed.

"I just woke up, and I'm already frazzled," she said quietly at Aria, who had jumped down onto the floor, taking the bedsheets with him.

"President, could you go downstairs and holler when the guests arrive? I can't go looking like this."

"Pui-_nyu_!" Aria saluted and immediately fell backward into the sheets, entangling himself. Ai helped him extricate his bulk from the textile mess, and he went downstairs.

When Akari emerged from the washroom, she found Ai waiting for her, quiet and penitent. She had managed to restore a little order in her room and stood beside her bed.

"Akari-san, I promise this won't happen again. I hope I haven't thrown things too out of whack."

"I already told–" Seeing how serious Ai was, Akari tried to assume similar _gravitas_. "Hmm. Very well. If you wish to make up for it, you can practice after classes. You'll need to do so alone, as I'm fully booked today, and President Aria told me yesterday that he's going to take this day off."

Ai knew full well what that implied. Neo-Venezian presidents didn't take vacations, they lived their whole lives at their companies.

"I understand. I'll try to be back here as early as possible." Again, it was because Ai was Akari's support; the more she could do, the less hassle there was for the Prima.

"There's no need to," Akari informed her. "There won't be time for me to come back to Aria Company, so you don't need to come home early."

"Oh, okay. I'll . . . I'll just practice, then."

"As you should." Suddenly Akari chortled and laughed. "Oh, lighten up! Everything's alright! I don't blame you for oversleeping, I've done that myself several times. The weather's so nice, you just don't want to get out of bed." The tall woman leaned closer and tweaked Ai's nose. "C'mon, let me see you smile before I leave."

"_Puipuinyu!_"

"They're here!" Ai said, glancing in the direction of the stairwell.

"Ah-ah. I'm not going until you smile."

Ai's facial muscles twitched.

"Is that a smile? Come on, Ai, a shark can do better than that."

"Well, I'm not a shark!"

"Go on. A real smile. Everything's okay. Just one smile."

Ai found herself reacting to Akari's own beatific expression.

"That's better. Do I look alright?" Akari spun around.

Ai reached out and straightened Akari's bow tie. "Perfect."

"Okay. Bye now!"

Akari fairly flew down the stairs. Ai heard her greet their visitors in her usual courteous manner, and as she sat down, she heard them leave. She took her cat hat from her head and looked at it. Crumpled and forlorn, it was looking a little worse for wear, and it had a tendency to slip down the side of her head. Nevertheless, she valued it because it had been a gift from Akari. She turned it in her hands as she reflected on her mentor's words. Especially the word "home."

----------oOo----------

Perhaps it was in compensation that she fussed over President Aria before they left the office that morning. She took his electric mini-gondola in tow behind her own, adjusted his cap a thousand times, and plied him with more tidbits than she normally thought wise.

"You're sure you don't want to bring along any snacks?" she asked as he prepared to cast off. They had stopped at a _fondamenta _and its associated canal (exactly where Ai didn't know, as it was early days and she was still learning her way around), where Aria's small craft would not be bothered by swells.

The white cat shook his head and looked patiently at her.

"Okay, then. See you later."

Ai watched him start up the canal. From her point of view, the waterway and its environs were peculiarly shadowed for such a sunny morning. A meeting, and not in Carnevale season. Ai wondered what was going on, but paid heed to Akari's warning and did not try to tail President Aria.

----------oOo----------

That afternoon the Pair wandered aimlessly through Neo-Venezia's canals, lost in thought. She silently took in the varied sights, sounds, and smells of this, her new abode. In one place—a quiet, shadowed back-alley canal with no sidewalks, flanked by tall buildings on both sides, walls stained by age—a steel-haired woman was hanging out a line of washing from the third floor of a building, causing the _undine_ to veer to the right side of the canal to avoid it. After passing she looked back, and found her eyes meeting the lady's.

"Good day," the other found the woman's head framed by the floating bulk of Ukijima, the sky city. "Are you looking for something?"

"Good day," Ai replied, shaking her head. "I was just passing by, _signora_. Thank you for asking."

"Ah. I thought you were lost because people don't often pass this way. It's not on the tourist itineraries." The damp air muffled the woman's words. Then she smiled sadly, or so it seemed to Ai. "But I guess this place would hardly make anyone want to burst into song." She gestured at the shadowed and silent water-alley.

"Next time, _signora_." Ai didn't know what else to say. "I promise that you will hear me next time I pass."

The woman smiled widely. "I'll be pleased to hear it, Miss Undine."

Moving on, Ai found a barge and workmen damming up the canal she had intended to use. She watched them for a bit, until the foreman—a beetle-browed, fierce-eyed man the size of a small mountain, dressed in a red vest, hard hat and gloves—asked her if they could do anything for her.

"Do you mind if I watch for a bit?"

One bushy brow went up. "Eh? I don't see what's so interesting that you'd want to. Suit yourself. Just don't bump into the dam, please. You could drown us all." The foreman was chuckling when he said it, but Ai took him seriously and kept her gondola well away from the cofferdam they had set up. She watched as they pulled out old bricks, replaced them with new ones, cleaned out most of the brownish mud and sand, and generally shored up the foundations. It was a strange feeling to be looking down at them while still on the water. It was even stranger to imagine the canal filled again, with the workers still doing their work underwater, their hard hats floating up off their heads, the straps compressing into their chins.

"Alright, ten-minute break!" the foreman shouted some minutes later. "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!" Everyone stopped working and clambered up a ladder to their barge, moored on the same side of the canal as Ai's gondola. She was about to leave when the foreman called out to her. She turned around.

"Little miss, do you want some?" The man was sitting on the sidewalk, holding up a mountainous pile of sandwiches and a flask.

"That's very generous of you," Ai said, rowing backward towards him, slowly and awkwardly. She hadn't practiced it much. "But I just ate, and I imagine you'd need all of them for your hard work."

"She's right, boss," one of the men commented. He was a wiry, spiky-haired guy with bronzed skin, sleeveless and sweaty. "On account of you being so big."

This sparked laughter amongst the other members of the group.

"Giancarlo," said the foreman, "at least I'm offering her something, which is more than you're doing."

"Yeah!" the others chorused. "C'mon, Carlo. Stop shoving food down that great big hole you call your mouth."

"And he never gets fat, no matter how much he puts in it!" More laughter.

"Well, you can have this," Ai said, bending down and reaching into a little red bag on the main seat of her gondola. She brought out a packet and gave it to the foreman, who opened it.

"Hey, thanks! Don't mind if I do." With great care he selected two wax paper-wrapped sandwiches and held them out to her. "I don't believe in getting something for nothing."

"You're already keeping the canals safe for all of us," Ai said softly. "I wouldn't call that nothing."

"Ah, that's just us doing our job. Go on, take them." As the Pair took the sandwiches and placed them in her bag, the foreman said, "A fair-speaking miss you are! Not many people would talk to us so."

Ai bowed and rowed away. Once she had mistaken the Caffe Florian's hulking owner for a kidnapper. After that, she promised herself to never judge based on appearances.

"Gondola coming through!" she cried as she neared a blind bend. It felt nice to be able to keep a promise.

----------oOo----------

Passing Aria Company—locked and shuttered as she had left it—and then reentering the canals, she wound up at the Ponte de la Malvasia Veghia, where a trio of children ran across the bridge and greeted her "Miss Undine!" when she came out the other side. Ai waved, and the children giggled and laughed and ran off.

The same thing happened again and again. Whether with a smile, a nod, a wave of a hand, or another gesture, strangers greeted her, and she answered back with a smile.

_How can anyone feel lonely here, with such friendly people?_ was her thought as she carefully negotiated the busy Rialto. _They say the Venice of old was a city one could fall in love with._ As she passed underneath the massive bridge a sleek black mascareta came alongside, slowly overtaking her craft. Ai touched the brim of her hat at the handsome young man piloting the boat as they passed each other by. He was a tall fellow in a tan leather jacket and jeans, rowing alone with two crossed oars. He acknowledged her by nodding and giving her a blush-inducing smile.

_Well, I think this one stole mine, _she tittered. _I wonder if I can have it back._

"_Signorina,_ your name?" the man asked. He had a strong accent Ai couldn't quite place.

Ai shook her head, searching for a way to politely decline. "You may ask it some other time."

The young man transferred both oars to one hand, yanked off his hat and clutched it against his breast, assuming a distressed expression. "But then . . . I won't be able to sleep tonight! Lady, have a care!"

Ai chuckled. She kept rowing, while the man's theatrics had forced him to stop. His mascareta fell behind.

Ai turned. "You'll see me around," she said.

"I'm afraid I won't," the man replied as he took up the oars again and caught up with her.

Ai raised her eyebrows inquiringly.

"Most likely all this is just a dream, which I'll probably wake from before I reach home." He looked up at Ai, and mischief danced in his clear grey eyes along with the sunlight. "In this dream I was just rowing home after a tiring day out on the lagoon, when this beautiful _undine_ suddenly appears out of nowhere and takes my tiredness away. I asked her her name, but she wouldn't give it. And before I could convince her to, my road home approached, and I had to leave her. _Arrivederci,_ sweet summer dream! Goodbye, Miss Undine!"

The nameless rower peeled away from her and headed for a side canal.

"Uh . . . I . . ." Flabbergasted, the young woman sought for the right words. "This . . . this isn't a dream!" she called after him.

"San Marco! We may meet there one of these days!" he answered, looking back at her. "Will you go there?"

"I will!"

"Then you give me hope! I awake from my dream now. _Ciao_!"

Ai continued up the green-gray length of the Grand Canal, standing tall at the stern of her gondola, at once exhilarated and suddenly alone in the midst of a city of thousands of people.

----------oOo----------

Having passed the business district, Ai chose to duck back into the smaller canals. She was well into the southwestern part of Neo-Cannaregio when she saw, emerging from a T-junction ahead, a white gondola, sleek and smooth amidst the rough _scuci-cuci_ of the walls, its colors shining in the muted browns and grays of Ai's surroundings. It belonged to Himeya, and on the main seat was a couple. The sandy-blond _undine_ who rowed it expertly negotiated a right turn and continued on her way, away from Ai.

How serene and confident she looked, the Pair thought, standing on the _lama_ like she'd been there all her life. She saw her gesture as she spoke to her customers, all the while keeping her gondola moving smoothly on the water.

As she kept rowing, Ai decided to imitate the Prima's pose for her own amusement. She imagined being on her own white gondola, with her guests listening to her every word. Serene and confident she was, Ai of Aria Company, and she raised a hand to point out a scene of interest . . . .

"Look out!"

In the second it took Ai to open her eyes and take in the situation, a black gondola slammed into the prow of her own, coming in from a canal on her left. The force of the impact jarred Ai. She slipped. Fortunately the canal she was in had no bank, and she was able to save herself from falling by simply putting out a gloved hand against the blank wall to her right.

For the moment, at least. Ai, looking down at the water, found her boat diligently obeying Newton's Third Law of Motion. That is, her off-balance position and hand on the wall was causing her gondola to move away from it. In a second or two the gap would be too wide and she would plop into the canal.

"No, please," she muttered, quickly trying to find some way to lever herself upright. She couldn't keep her grip and bring her sweep out of the water at the same time, though, and she and her gondola were almost at the point of no return . . . .

There was a gentle _thunk._ Something arrested the sideways motion of her boat. A hand firmly gripped her left shoulder and Ai looked up to see a tall red-haired girl with a worried face looking at her. The assistance the newcomer brought was enough to enable her to bring her oar out of the water and use it to push herself upright.

"Are you okay? I'm really sorry!"

The speaker was an _undine_, albeit one whose uniform and insignia Ai couldn't recognize. She had brought her craft alongside, parallel to the Aria trainee's.

Ai looked at the bow of her gondola. There didn't seem to be any damage, save for a small nick near the port rail.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks. I would've fallen if you hadn't helped me." Ai dipped her head.

"Well, it was my fault for running into you," said the flame-haired girl. She tentatively extended a hand. "L-Lucy."

_She's a Single,_ Ai thought as she shook the glove. "My name is Ai. And, uh, I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry."

"No, you still had the right of way." The redhead focused on Ai's uniform. "You're from Aria Company, right?"

Ai nodded. "I'm surprised you know that," she remarked as she kept her gondola a bit apart from Lucy's. "Considering there are only two of us who wear this." Ai looked down at her uniform, then glanced at Lucy's. Her brow furrowed.

Lucy's expression mimicked hers. "Is something the matter?"

"I—um, I can't recognize your company," she admitted, giggling shamefacedly.

"Oh. Well, my teacher had me memorize all the existing undine companies here in Neo-Venezia, it's why I know yours. It's sort of a hobby of hers. Himeya and Orange Planet are the oldest and biggest, while yours is very famous. There are also a lot of small operators, though. I belong to one of them."

"Have you been a Single long?" Ai asked tentatively, not knowing if her question would be offensive to the other girl.

"Just two months. I was a Pair for well over a year. No worries, though—everything in its due time, right?" The girl grinned. "Are you practicing?"

Ai nodded, handling her oar amidships with one hand. "Even now."

Lucy smiled. "Hey, um . . . you want to pair up?" She made a circling gesture with her free hand. "It gets boring practicing alone."

Ai regarded her new-met acquaintance. "Sure, why not? Aria Pokoteng usually accompanies me, but he's off-duty today."

"Who's he?"

"He's a big white cat. Our president."

"Ah." Lucy placed her sweep into the oarlock and started off. To Ai she seemed a teensy bit shaky as her gondola moved forward. "Ours passed away last year, and my teacher hasn't got the heart to replace him."

"Oh. That's so sad." Ai positioned her oar blade behind herself, alongside the boat, and swished the water as she executed _sotomorso_, following Lucy. "I worry about ours." Since there was no oncoming traffic, the Single kept to the left and Ai was able to come alongside her.

"Why's that?"

"He's getting on in cat years and—well, if you see him, you'd understand." Ai chuckled. "He loves his food. Where are we going?"

"Is it okay if we stay in the small canals until we reach Santa Croce? I haven't been able to practice maneuvering with another boat much."

"No problem."

"And when we get there, let me treat you to some lunch. My apology for bumping into your boat, hey?"

"Well . . . ."

"Please say yes. I promise you'll enjoy the food there."

"Um, alright." Just this once, Ai thought. After a wonderful day like this, it couldn't hurt, could it?

"Thank you," Lucy said, doing a little curtsey on the _lama da poppa_. Then she whirled around, gripping her sweep with both hands.

"_Ao!_ Gondola passing by!" she lustily sang out. Ai liked the sound of it.

--------oOo--------

"Oh, Castalotti's really like that." Lucy's fork waved in the air like a conductor's baton. The other patrons of the small bistro idly looked at her, then returned their attention to their food. "Don't let his gruff manner put you down. That's just how he shows his concern for his students. At least he's not sarcastic like Miss Rubiens."

"I suppose you're right." Ai tried a forkful of fish. "This is really nice. But this is the first time I've heard of soup without—well, you know, the soup."

It was true. The mullet-and-tomato fish soup that Lucy had asked her to try was conspicuous for being free of much free-standing broth.

"Does it bother you? I can tell Alonzo to add some more liquid."

"No, it's not a problem. Where does the nutty flavor come from?"

"_La_, can't tell you that. Trade secret," Lucy chirped. "Anyway, that's how it's made in my cousin's _trabuccio_. The bread slices get too soggy and disintegrate if you let them alone for too long. Though my uncle likes his like that . . . ."

"I see."

"Their place is a bit far from Neo-Venezia. Emil, the cook here, used to work for my uncle, so he knows the fish soup I asked for."

Lucy drank some of the wine she had ordered, then tilted her head and regarded Ai. "So you came from Man-Home?"

"Yes. You're an Aquan, am I right?"

"No, I also came from Man-home. But that was years ago, when I was still a baby. My father moved here to start a business. He grows flowers. Some he sells here, but most of his produce gets shipped back to Man-home."

"Oh? Where do you live, then? There's no space to grow plants here in the city, and I haven't seen any flower farms on the mainland."

"My father lives quite a distance to the northeast of Neo-Venezia. Because I'm training, I only go home occasionally. You live at Aria Company, right?"

"Yes."

"I do the same thing."

When the meal was finished, Emil the cook came out of the kitchen. He was a bald, swarthy man, with hands as big as dinner plates and a wide smile. The girls thanked him and Lucy asked if she could pick up the tab later.

"Of course!" Emil exclaimed. "No problem! It is always good to see the little miss! And her friend, of course! Come back soon!"

Alonzo the waiter, vest-suited and similarly effusive, opened the door for them. They emerged into the sunlight.

"Good old Neo-Venezia," remarked Lucy as she tugged on her glove. "A two-thousand-year-old tradition continues to this very day."

Ai raised her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

Lucy looked at her, green eyes dancing, impish. "Credit."

Both girls laughed.

As they walked along the embankment back to their gondolas, Ai felt quite happy and content. The food had been delicious, as promised, and she had made a new friend. So when Lucy suggested that they continue practicing as a pair, she had no objections.

They unmoored their craft and sailed out into the canal, with Ai in the lead. At an intersection Lucy directed her left, into a small tributary flanked on both sides by weathered red brick walls. On their left was a row of houses; on their right they could see past a wrought-iron fence into a small park.

"You know, it's odd," said Lucy as they traversed the canal. "This place is usually full of cats lounging around. Now it's deserted, like they've packed up and left."

Ai looked left and right, watching for the flick of a tail, or a pair of steady yellow eyes. Instead, there was only a heavy stillness, an emptiness that she found somewhat stifling.

"Well, maybe they've gone to a cats' meeting," she suggested.

The _undine_ with the fiery hair guffawed. "Right, right. As if even our presidents could ever do that."

Ai looked halfway back at Lucy. The Single was busy looking around and missed her sidelong glance. "Who knows?" she asked, suppressing a smile. "Who knows." At that particular moment Ai felt inexplicably sly and minxish, the mischievous bearer of a city's secret. It was a delicious feeling that both startled and amazed her.

----------oOo----------

Sometime later both were in Lucy's gondola, negotiating a canal headed towards San Marco. Lucy was fuming.

"You're still a Pair, yet your rowing is better than mine!"

"Hey, weren't you the one who said 'all in due time'? Besides, it's not as if my rowing's perfect. You saw me having trouble with that sharp turn back there." Even as she said it, though, Ai was secretly proud of the praise, of Akari's holding her to a high standard, and her own effort in apparently achieving it.

"But it's better than mine! Smoother, for one thing."

"I just look more confident."

"You don't move around so much when rowing."

"That's 'cause you've got a boat that doesn't fit you. The rowlock's a bit too forward and high—I've noticed you leaning too much and upsetting your boat's balance—and the _pontapie_ looks like it's in the wrong place for ordinary rowing. But why am I lecturing you? I'm sure you already know all this." A look of annoyance crossed Ai's face, and she brushed her short hair back with a gloved hand. "I think you're making fun of me."

"Hmm? No, I'm not." Lucy gave another pull of the oar. "This is my instructor's old boat, and she was using it earlier today. She's taller and has longer limbs than I do."

"So adjust it!"

"Can't."

"What?"

"The way this boat was built, you need tools to remove the oarlock and _pontapie._ I don't have them."

"What an odd gondola!" Ai exclaimed. "Then if you were on your own one you'd do just fine," she triumphantly declared.

"Maybe," Lucy hedged. "It'll be years before that makes any difference, anyway." Lucy nodded to a passing boatman. "What a strange duo we must look, a Pair and a Single together."

Ai frowned.

"Oh, no, no! I didn't mean it that way! Pairs usually gravitate to other Pairs, and Singles to other Singles." Lucy looked down at the oar, away from Ai's gaze. "Do you feel like that too?"

"I don't think so," Ai answered. "I've never trained with anyone except Primas before."

"Really? Me too."

"I think a person should look for wisdom wherever it may be. I mean, we can learn a lot from our fellow trainees as well, right?"

"Right!" Lucy enthused. "Like in my case, you can watch me and learn what _not_ to do."

Ai chuckled. "Are you really that bad? Because then, how did you get to be a Single?"

"About three months' worth of visiting all the churches in Neo-Venezia fixed things," joked Lucy. "No, I don't think I'm that bad. I just have a long way to go."

Ai faced forward. A breeze cooled her face. "Me too."

----------oOo----------

Wandering into the Rio di Palazzo several minutes later, they were still talking about their profession.

"Being a Prima seems very difficult," Lucy remarked. "And being an _undine _isn't just about skill with a gondola. It's also about relating to people, and in that department I have major shortcomings."

Ai smiled. The comment was something she could relate to. "Something like, 'I wish I were as graceful as that girl, or as good a conversationalist as my teacher,' right?"

"You got it." Lucy, who was rowing, stopped at an intersection and let a trio of dinghies pass. Then she eased into the crossing and headed down the way they had come. "Besides, not everyone is cut out to be a Prima. Some of us are content to stay as journeymen. What do you think?"

"If that's the way you feel . . . My teacher always said that we should find our own strengths and develop them. Myself, I think I'd rather be a Prima."

"Why? The fame? Making people happy? Being noted as a skillful _undine_?"

"Well . . . I would be lying if I said those weren't part of the reasons."

"But?"

"But what?" The Pair's voice held an edge to it.

"There's a 'but' at the end of that sentence of yours." Ai turned around and eyed Lucy, who gazed down at her for a moment, then looked away and continued rowing. "Sorry if I'm prying."

"Perhaps some other time," Ai gently agreed. "Lucy?"

"Hmm?"

"You talk about becoming a Prima, but I'm not even a Single yet. What sort of test does a Pair take to go up in rank?"

"You don't know?"

"I wouldn't be asking if I did."

Lucy appeared to mull over her reply. When she spoke, it was the very answer Ai had been dreading.

"It's a very, very difficult test. You'll look back on it and remember it as a day of torture, I swear. That is, if you pass." Lucy's voice was quiet, and something indefinable lurked behind her green eyes, emerald snakes hidden in the verdant garden. "You will have to study very hard. No _undine_ is allowed to reveal it on pain of suspension and removal. The saints forgive me, I've already said too much."

Lucy lapsed into silence, and Ai swallowed and sat back in her seat. Surely Akari wouldn't . . . .

----------oOo----------

"Your rowing is plenty strong—stronger than my own, in fact. My teacher always told me that if you want to act smooth, you have to think smooth."

"The Aquamarine?" Lucy pulled a few strokes.

"I hardly ever call her that." After a minute or two of feeling Lucy's rowing, Ai ventured, "If you don't mind my asking, what's your teacher's name?"

"Hmm? Oh, it's The Vision."

"What vision?"

"I mean her name's _La Visione, _or just Vision. She also insists that I call her by that."

"Vision?"

"Vision." Lucy chuckled. "Can you imagine it? 'Vision, there's a customer waiting for you at the Accademia. Vision, your shoelace is untied. Vision, you burned the breakfast biscuits again.'"

Ai was silent as they broke out into the Grand Canal. The water glittered with hard, hurtful diamonds as they traded places. Ai turned the gondola around, intending to head back they way they came. As she was pointing the prow back down the canal, though, Lucy spoke up.

"A challenge for you. Go back to your gondola by a different route."

Ai smiled. "Okay," she said. She headed out into the Grand Canal and started off. Motorboats, vaporetti and other watercraft passed by them on the busy thoroughfare. They even saw one of the electric-powered canal cleaners puttering along. These boats kept the Canalazzo and other major waterways free of debris, man-made or natural, by scooping it up into their aft holds. Lucy waved to the helmsman, and he waved back as his machine turned a bend and was lost to sight.

"Acting so freely while in uniform is prohibited," said Ai softly, mimicking Senior Aika, if only Lucy had known it.

"What?"

"An _undine_ should act in a refined manner," Ai preached. "She should not be given to acting overly friendly, especially when on duty or with guests." When she saw Lucy frown, then pout at her, she couldn't help laughing.

"I was just kidding. That's part of the book thrown at me by a Prima of Himeya."

"Who?"

"Oh, the Crimson Rose."

"You personally know her?"

Ai nodded. "I've been personally scolded by her. She's like Castelotti, though. If she's hard on you, it's because she thinks you have potential."

"Doesn't it make you angry when you're scolded?"

"Huh? Not really." She couldn't bring herself to tell Lucy that Akari never scolded her, and was in fact so kind that Ai sometimes found herself taking advantage. As for Miss Akira, well . . . the day she grew a halo and became all kind and gentle was the day the sea would open and swallow them all up. Auntie Aika was the one who said it, if she remembered correctly. No, that wasn't quite right. Ai was sure she had also mentioned something about the heavens falling and the Circles of Hell from Dante's Inferno . . . . it was very descriptive.

"You know . . . I heard that the Crimson Rose is very busy these days."

"Of course, being top _undine_ and all."

"I . . . see." Ai was busy keeping her eye on a passing water bus, and so missed the look on Lucy's face, and the note in her voice.

"I hear she's retiring soon."

Ai shrugged, not knowing Lucy had turned away from her. "I haven't heard anything like that."


	3. The Mask

Aria (c) Kozue Amano, Mag Blade, Hal Film Maker.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the reviews. And please forgive any pretensions I have towards knowing Italian. Or gondolas.

* * *

**The Mask**

_Un inglesina, sul Canal Grande  
guarda la luna, sospira e fa:_

_Gondola, gondola, gondolì,  
gondola, gondole._

In another part of the city, a short-haired heir was sitting alone in front of the richly-carved hardwood desk in her office, located on the top of the palazzo which had been purchased by her company and converted. She had the run of most of the top floor, her office and small apartment located there; below it, the _piano nobile_ had been converted into four-person dorm rooms for the _undine_ and staff under her charge, complete with bathing facilities. The ground floor was dedicated dining, storage and reception. The building enclosed a small courtyard, the central feature of which was a stepped topiary, a wedding-cake arrangement of globe-trimmed plants whose flowers bloomed red and white in the autumn.  
Aika S. Granzchesta sighed as she put down the papers she had been working on and stared out the floor-length windows on her right. Past the _loggia_ outside she could see the Grand Canal, sparkling blue in the sun, heavily trafficked but eerily silent. She had closed all the windows a while ago so she could concentrate better on her work, but now she felt as if the room were stifling her.

_Oh, what good is it being a Prima,_ she grumbled,_ when you're stuck inside an office the whole day?_ She stood up, walked to the _loggia_ doors, and impetuously flung them open. Hearing the sounds of the city return, she closed her eyes, listening to them as well as basking in the warmth of the sunshine on her face.

Since the race with Al, various exigencies dictated that she remain away from her gondola. On Monday, she had a meeting with a tourist agency consortium. On Tuesday, with all her _undine_ busy, she had to stay behind to babysit a bunch of architecture students who quite literally crawled all over the building, studying its every corner, including one hapless girl who accidentally wandered into her room while trying to see if the San Marco bell tower was visible from up here . . . .

The worst thing happened on Wednesday. That day she had to intervene between two of her Singles and send one of them back to the main office. She felt really bad doing it, but there was no other way. The Single herself was the one who requested the transfer, saying she just couldn't get along with another of her fellow _undine,_ but Aika considered it a personal failure. Maybe if she had taken a different approach beforehand, been more attentive to the warning signs . . . she took a deep breath and sighed, her shoulders sagging. She couldn't understand it; everyone had been so friendly last Christmas . . . .

"Hey, Aika!" A hand touched her shoulder, and the Himeya heir leapt out of her skin and yelled. She turned around and saw who was standing behind her, and her expression changed from one of fright to annoyance.

"Senior Akira!" she said, placing a hand on her chest, her heart still thumping. "Don't _do_ that! Make more noise when you walk, will you?"

The raven-haired beauty in the Himeya uniform looked down, then back at her former student, a slender eyebrow raised. "Can I help it if you had the floor carpeted? What are you doing out there?" Akira smiled. "Daydreaming about your boyfriend?"

Aika chuckled and realized how much her back ached. She stretched. "I wish. I was just finishing those reports." She nodded towards her table. "How are you, Miss Akira?"

"So formal?" Neo-Venezia's only remaining Water Fairy stepped around Aika's massive desk and took a cursory glance at the holo-sheets on it. "Property tax valuation? What in the world are you doing that for? Shouldn't the accounting firm handle that?"

Aika laughed sheepishly. "I just wanted to double check." She stepped back inside, closing the doors after her, and sidled up to the octagonal tea table at one corner of her office. "Please, have a seat. Camomile?"

"If you've got any cafe latte, I'll bless you," said Akira as she sat down in the amply stuffed iron-framed loveseat midway between the tea service and Aika's desk. She frowned, bouncing once or twice on the armless seat and exploring it with her hands. "Where are you going? Did you know this couch is lumpy?"

Aika, who had disappeared though an inner set of doors leading to her secretary's office, called out, "Oh, I keep forgetting you haven't been up here yet. My secretary has the day off, and we have a small kitchen over here. As for the couch . . . when I'm alone I usually lie down there and look out the windows. I've been doing that a lot lately . . . . I have another set of cushions, if you want me to change those."

"No, it's okay. Don't bother with the latte, tea will be fine."

"It's alright, Senior, I still need to get the hang of this espresso machine. Wait just a bit, please."

Akira was quiet as Aika finished making the latte, assembled a service and brought it to the low table in front of her former mentor. "Thanks," she said. "That doesn't sound like the go-getter Aika I know." She raised the small cup from the service, looked at it, and smiled. There was a Himeya logo in brown on top of the foamy surface. "Nice touch."

"Thanks."

"How'd you make it so quickly?"

"Secret," Aika giggled. "Only Ardelle and I know."

"Oh, I'll learn it myself. You know I can be very persuasive." The last was said with a suggestive lowering of the voice, and a hint of mischief in Akira's eyes.

"No doubt about it. Only you'll have to persuade Ardelle, since I know you too well."

"Hmph. We may have been together for quite a while, Aika, but don't assume you know all my tricks."

"Tricks?" repeated Aika with an air of disbelief, the expression on her face showing how much she enjoyed the exchange. "Who said anything about tricks? You break _the rules themselves_, Senior Akira. Mere tricks wouldn't delight you as much. Want some walnut bread?"

"Hmm? No, thanks. I just need something warm." Akira sipped the drink. "Hah, nutmeg. Perfect." Large, lustrous brown eyes, almost black in the sunlight coming in through the windows, looked up at Aika. "So how are you? Problems?"

The short-haired _undine_ laughed out loud. "Oh, a dozen. But don't worry, I'm dealing with them."

"That's good to hear." Akira finished the coffee and set her cup down. "Won't you have some?"

"No thanks, I just had a snack a while ago."

"Well, sit down, will you?" Akira's voice, which had been quiet and conversational until that moment, regained some of the old fire her student knew so very well. "The way you're standing there is making _me_ feel uptight. You look like a spring all wound up."

"Do I?" wondered Aika, immediately sliding into the nearest seat.

"Come on, I have an idea." Akira stood up, walked over to the tea table, and pulled out the stool under it. Bringing it to her junior, she patted it and said, "Sit here. Here! Turn to the window. That's it. Relax."

With the sunlight again on her face, Aika felt Akira's touch on the sides of her neck, on the curve where it met her shoulders.

"Yiii! Senior Akira, your hands are cold!"

"Oops. I've been in the Dogana all day, and they had the air conditioning really down low. Sorry about that." Aika heard a rustling noise behind her, then felt the touch return, brief squeezing her shoulders. "You're really tense. Let's do something about that, shall we?"

Aika closed her eyes as Akira began to knead her shoulders. "Ohh. That's nice."

Akira chuckled. She continued massaging Aika's shoulders for around five minutes, staying silent all the time, then moved down to just above the small of Aika's back, against which she rolled the knuckles of her balled-up hands repeatedly. She roved the region thoroughly, alternating between knuckle rolling and thumb presses. In the end Aika, swaying on the stool, could only groan "I wanna lie down."

"Be my guest." Akira helped her to the loveseat. "Do you want me to continue?"

"If it isn't trouble—too much trouble, I mean."

"Okay, then. Overshirt off."

"What?"

"You'll wrinkle it."

Aika clumsily yanked her uniform shirt off. This Akira carefully placed on a nearby seat. She came back to find her junior regarding her with glazed eyes from the couch.

"Senior Akira, why are . . . why are you being so nice to me?"

"Wondering about my actions is not allowed." Akira smiled and clapped her on the shoulder. "To be honest, you look like you could use a bit of relaxation. Consider it a reward for all your hard work. Now I believe you said you wanted me to continue . . . ."

Aika lay back down, on her stomach as directed, and Akira took both her shoes and Aika's off. Kneeling beside her sometime student, she continued her ministrations until she saw that the younger woman was relaxed and limp.

"Sleepy?"

"Mmm. Don't . . . shouldn't. Work."

"Later," Akira disagreed. "Go on, take a nap or you'll feel horrible." She laid a gentle hand on the back of Aika's head, and a ghost of a smile skittered across her lips as she brought her mouth close to a drowsy ear and whispered into it.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm your newest employee."

Aika twisted her head to look at her former mentor. "What?" A look of confusion passed over her features, changing into a frown.

"We'll talk about it later, okay?" Pale hand lighted on pale cheek. It felt warm, and the touch very comforting; the sensation made Aika lose what little focus she had gathered. "Go to sleep. I'll hold the fort."

Of course. Akira was here. She could sleep a little. Aika shut her eyes and slipped into slumber. "Thanks," she murmured just before her soul flung the dream-gates open and ran into the wild beyond.

Akira regarded the prone figure. _Poor girl,_ she thought. _She must've been very tired to fall asleep that fast._ Brushing a strand of bluish hair away from the younger woman's face, the Crimson Rose slowly stood up. She laced her fingers together and stretched her arms in front of her, cracking her knuckles.

_Try and beat that, Alicia,_ she thought smugly, looking at her callused hands. She wondered why she had never thought of learning massage before. The private Akira was finding that it fulfilled a need inside her, for physical intimacy. Not the kind that came with a full-blown relationship, for she felt entering one would be doing a disservice to the people of Neo-Venezia, of whom she was a highly visible and highly regarded symbol; just a caress once in a while, a squeeze on the hand to tell her everything would be alright.

As she gazed down at the peaceful Aika, she smiled. Besides, how could one not feel happy at being able to give pleasure to the people one cared about? She doubted Alicia or Athena would be better than her at this. Physical contact wasn't really Alicia's forte; she reserved most of that, along her innermost feelings, for very special people in her life. Athena, well . . . Athena was sensual, in touch with herself through body and song in a way that surpassed mere physical contact, but it carried her away to someplace where those didn't have much meaning. Only the song, only the voice of her soul, mattered to her. In a sense, it _was_ her.

For a while the veteran _undine_ sat on couch beside Aika, remembering the little jumper-suited girl who had made the rose-clover all those years ago. She wondered if the Rozen Queen had ever cottoned on.

Silently rising and making her way to the anteroom that served as Aika's secretary's office, she discovered an intercom on the table there. She crossed over to it and pressed the button.

"This is Akira. Can anyone hear me?"

"Miss Akira?" a tinny male voice responded.

"Yes. Who is this? Aldo?"

"Yes'm."

"Listen, if anyone comes to see Miss Aika, tell them to see me, okay? I'll be up here in the office. No one is to disturb her for whatever reason. She's resting."

"Got it."

"Could you get someone to take the things from my gondola? Leave them in reception; I'll bring them up to my room later."

"No worries, Miss Akira. I'll do that myself."

"Okay, then. Thanks a lot."

Akira switched off. Turning away, she started when she discovered President Hime, Aika's black cat, sitting motionless at the head of the spiral staircase leading down to the second floor, watching her.

"Hime, you startled me! Come here, will you?"

The feline let out a soft, cultured "_Mew_" and hopped into Akira's waiting arms.

"Dear lady, I'm glad to see you! I brought you something, but it's downstairs. You can wait a little, right? I need to take care of your master first. Behave yourself, she's asleep."

If the Earth cat could only speak, she would've asked Akira why she looked so serious now, when she was so devil-may-care a while ago. It was a game that all humans appeared to love playing, hiding behind masks. And not only during Carnival time.

----------oOo----------

That very day Aria Company was out on a trip, and this time Ai wore a smile almost the whole time, as everything went perfectly for her. She didn't oversleep, nor did she commit a _faux pas_ with their guests. Having gone ashore at Campo Neo della Guerra, their customers—a stout young man and his spinster aunt—thanked them effusively. They were to leave on the morrow, returning to Man-Home.

Akari and her charge stood just inside the hotel lobby and watched the pair disappear into the elevator at the further end. "Well, I call that a good day's job," said the elder undine. "Do you mind taking us back to Aria Company, Ai dear?"

"Not at all."

Ai helped Akari aboard and carefully backed away from the landing. As they headed down the San Zulian, Akari suddenly asked, "Miss Undine, why did you choose this narrow canal?"

"Oh!" Ai slowed her sculling. "Did you have a preference, _Signora_?"

Akari looked back at her with a raised eyebrow and an amused expression.

"_Signorina_, forgive me," corrected the Pair. "The maturity of your poise led me to believe you were married. Surely no man would let someone like you pass them by."

"Nicely put," Akari commended, looking back at Ai and smiling. "But unless you know someone very well, be aware of what you're saying and the assumptions you put behind them. Like I always tell you."

"Yes, Akari-sensei." Ai grinned. "What would I do if the guest had liked women?"

"Ah." Akari nodded. "Your pardon, Miss Undine. I don't like men."

"Forgive my presumptuousness, Miss," Ai said. "May I ask why you don't like men?"

"Well . . . um, for one thing, they're sometimes loud and insensitive. They can also be very inconsiderate at times. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Undine?"

"I wouldn't know," Ai replied, ducking as they passed under a bridge. "You see, I've never had a boyfriend."

"Really?"

Ai nodded. "I work full time as an apprentice _undine_. You have a girlfriend, Miss?"

Akari smiled and nodded.

"Oh, it's a shame she isn't with you now. See, the Bridge of Sighs is coming up. It's said that if two lovers kiss under it at sunset, their love will last for eternity."

"Really? That sounds so romantic!"

"_Puinyui!_" agreed President Aria, who was sitting beside Akari.

Akari clasped her hands together. "What about you, Miss Undine? Do you regret not having the time for a boyfriend?"

Ai looked down at Akari. "I don't think so. In any case—" the Pair laughed uneasily "—I can't tell, because I don't know what I'm missing."

Akari was quiet for a moment, then laid a hand on her apprentice's left shoe. "Ai-chan."

"I'm sorry, Senior Akari. Did I sound regretful? Because, you know, I–I just wonder what life would be like if I hadn't taken the chance and stayed on Man-Home . . . ."

"Do you feel . . ." Akari asked, her voice quiet, "do you feel there's something missing in your life?"

"Hmm? No! Not really. But I sometimes feel a bit lonely. I miss my family, I guess." Ai blinked rapidly, her eyes studiously on the low bridge ahead.

"It is said that love and hate, joy and sadness are next-door neighbors," said Akari. "I wish I could do something to make you feel less lonely."

"Ah, it's nothing, Akari-san. Don't worry about it. Does . . . does the _Signorina_ also feel lonely at times?"

"Yeah. You know that. I sometimes wish Alicia was still at Aria Company. Before you came to Aqua again, I had no one but President Aria to share a beautiful sunset with. We were all so busy—the roads we traveled were getting further apart." Akari swiveled and sat back in her seat, softly stroking the fat cat's head. "But there's always something new to hope for, so don't get lost in those sad feelings."

Having negotiated the Canonica, the last span before the Bridge of Sighs, and within sight of the glinting lagoon, the Prima suddenly turned to her student and said, "Turn around."

Ai gazed longingly at the open water. "But Akari, I'm hungry."

"Turn around, please." Akari smiled up at her. "I forgot, we're almost out of bread. Let's get some of that soba sourdough and then we can fill that stomach of yours."

"_Puinyu!_"

"Okay. Don't laugh if you hear my stomach growling," Ai warned. She looked at the narrow canal and decided against trying to turn within its confines. Instead, she continued under the Ponte della Scaglia, went out into the lagoon, and maneuvered there before reentering the Rio de Palazzo. In her concentration, she missed the approving look on her mentor's face.

"Akari?" called the Pair just as they were about to pass under the Ponte de Sospiri again. "_Signorina _Akari?"

"Yes, Miss Undine?"

"Could you elaborate on your misgivings about men?"

"Hmm?" Puzzled, Akari nevertheless stayed in persona, holding forth on the subject for a minute. Not being an expert on it, much of what she said came from Aika's complaints and remarks about Akatsuki—those two were like cats and dogs whenever they met, squabbling so much, until the day when the normally quiet Alice decided to put her foot down, ended their bickering, and earned Akari's undying gratitude.

Having finished her impromptu speech, Akari turned back to Ai and asked, "Why? Is it important to you, Miss Undine?"

"Very." Ai grinned evilly. "I'll make sure Akatsuki-san is informed about your feelings."

"Wha–hey, no fair dropping out of character!"

Ai chuckled. "Just kidding. You get rattled so easily when I mention him, Akariii-saaan. I wonder why."

The Prima folded her arms and faced forward. "No comment."

----------oOo----------

After lunch, Akari was pouring herself a glass of cold water when she said, "Ai dear, I almost forgot, there's going to be a special lecture for Pairs at the Punta della Dogana later. Want to go?"

"Who's giving it?"

"The Gondola Association. It's sort of a primer to Neo-Venezia and being an _undine_. Might be a good place to meet new people," Akari suggested guardedly.

"If you think it'll be of help, I'll go. If President Aria will come along."

Aria Pokoteng stopped devouring his lunch and looked at Ai, then at Akari. "_Puinyu._"

"Oh, I think you'll find it interesting." Akari smiled. "I'll be in the office until you get back. Seems a good time to update the records."

----------oOo----------

So it was that by 2 PM Ai and Aria turned out of the Aria Company building. Ai wore her trademark black sleeveless shirt with white collar and short deep-red necktie, matching it with black capri pants and navy espadrilles. Because the weather was quite warm she decided to forego the white sleeves that she usually wore along with the rest of the outfit. She recommended that the President wear his cap with a snazzy blue bow tie flecked with tiny golden stars that Akari had made for him, and he agreed. Akari thoughtfully brushed Ai's hair and re-secured it with her red bow. Then the cat and the Pair hopped into Ai's black gondola and made their way to the Punta della Dogana, the old museum on the tip of Dorsoduro island, facing the San Marco basin.

Ai moored her gondola and made her way inside the low gray building. The original structure had served as Venice's customs authority, but in Neo-Venezia it was an art museum and contained multifunction rooms at the back.

She didn't need the various signs pointing her in the right direction. She and Aria just followed the stream of uniformed girls making their way to one of the double-doored rooms. Inside she registered herself and—to the attendant's amusement—President Aria, and found them empty seats.

There were fifty seats set up inside, facing a low stage with a lectern in the middle. Many of the seats were already taken by other Pairs. Most sported the red and white of Himeya, or the yellow trim of Orange Planet.

The buzz that was permeating the room suddenly died down, and everyone's attention was directed to a figure entering the front doors.

"Miss Alicia," the girl to Ai's left gushed.

Many in the audience repeated the name as the gold-braided woman made her way up to the lectern. Her attire was all business, comprising an umber-colored blazer, charcoal-gray pencil skirt, and wine-red heels. But there was little that was businesslike about the warm smile on her face, or her clear blue eyes, which sparkled as she looked out at the people in the room.

"Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of the Gondola Association, I'd like to thank you all for coming and to welcome you to this short lecture. Some of you might already know me. I'm Alicia, and along with Signor Tadao here I'll be with you this afternoon as we try to explain what it means to be an _undine_ in Neo-Venezia. We'll begin by asking you a question. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the phrase 'being an _undine_?'"

----------oOo----------

Alicia talked for about five minutes, after which Signor Tadao, jolly and crinkle-eyed, took over and led a brainstorming session which had all the Pairs divided into small groups. Each was given a topic to discuss, and to report to the rest of the gathering. The assembly discussed the results animatedly, with some generalizing that _undine_ should first and foremost uphold the history and traditions of Neo-Venezia, whereas others favored adapting to the needs and desires of their visitors. Afterwards Alicia presented a video in which a cameraman followed a Prima through her typical day. Ai watched avidly because the Prima starring in the film was none other than Akira E. Ferrari herself, who had at Akari's request given Ai occasional lessons. The video ran for about thirty minutes, ending with the black-haired Prima standing on the stern of her gondola, framed by the _bricola_ marking one of the main channels into Neo-Venezia. Her sweep lay lengthwise on the gondola, shaft resting on the oarlock, and the entire scene was burnished yellow by the setting sun. A low background strumming provided accompaniment.

"I won't kid you," she was saying in her low-pitched voice. "It's not always going to be easy. But look at this." She raised an arm and swept it over the cityscape in the background, turning away from the camera. "To me, being what I am, and working in a place like this, with the people of Neo-Venezia—it is beyond price. I hope you'll feel similarly as you continue your training, and I'll leave you with these words."

The music swelled, the strumming more urgent, accompanied by strings and woodwinds and horns. Akira's gaze never left the city as in one fluid motion she shed her red high heels, turned away from the camera, and stepped off her gondola and into the lagoon, splashing into the water up to mid-calf.

"_Sempre dritto! Avanti dritto!_ Whatever happens, keep going forward!" The camera lifted higher and zoomed closer as she waded a few steps, removing the gondola from the scene.

The Prima turned around and looked up as the camera began to overtake her. The view pulled back, showing her standing in the water, skirt floating, strands of her long hair twisting in the wind.

"May you find happiness in your chosen vocation, my dear Pairs," she called, raising a hand. Ever faster the camera pulled away from her, in the general direction of the city, until Akira was nothing but a small white figure in the lagoon, the music urging, triumphant, cresting. Then the scene faded to black. The orchestra gave one last sonorous chord and disappeared into silence.

The vidscreen shrunk into nothing and the lights came back on. When they did, Ai found that the seat to President Aria's left had been occupied by a most unexpected person.

"Lucy?"

"Heh. You were so engrossed you didn't even notice me sit down." Like almost everyone else in the room, she was dressed in her short-sleeved uniform.

"What are you doing here?"

"Duties for the day," the Single said. "I've been assigned to help Snow White. It is such a _dream_." Lucy looked down at Aria. She extended a hand; he shook it. She smiled at him; he just sat there staring at her with those strange blue eyes of his.

"Hi. I sort of bumped into your friend yesterday. My name's a—Lucy. You must be her boss."

"_Poipoi. Puinyu?_"

"Oh, you look very much the part. Plus, the hat kind of gives it away." Lucy looked up. "Ai, you never told me he was adorable."

"Huh? You never asked."

"Why would I need to—"

"Shh." Ai signaled she was trying to listen.

"Spoilsport." Lucy looked at Aria and held out a hand. "May I?"

"_Nyu._"

Lucy started to scratch the back of the cat's neck, and shivers of delight ran up and down the President's spine.

"You probably know as much about your boats as anyone in this room," Alicia was saying on the stage. "There used to be thousands of gondolas, and thousands of gondoliers in old Venice. They were so common that we have even have reports of them being sailed into battle in the open sea. However, when motorcraft were introduced, their numbers declined until the art of making and sailing them was almost lost in the mid-twenty-first century. Please take a look at this." An old engraving appeared on the screen.

"When Venice was still being built on the Rivo Alto, there weren't a lot of prepared landings. So the gondolas then were built in consideration of this. The one you see here had a fixed canopy and was rowed by two people." The image dissolved into a photograph of a white gondola without markings, supported by a wheeled dolly in what appeared to be a boatyard.

"Today the gondolas we use have some differences compared to older gondolas. They are built to take the stresses of air transport, for example. Also, many of the building techniques had to be relearned by our builders here in Neo-Venezia. The materials used in construction are also somewhat different, out of necessity."

"You'll also notice that our gondolas are allowed greater variation in design." Alicia flashed several pictures on the vidscreen. "In the distant past gondoliers were only allowed to paint their craft black, which wasn't a problem as pitch was used to make the boats watertight anyway. We basically have two main color schemes, black for private and working gondolas, like the ones that you're probably using now, and white gondolas, which are the sole province of—you guessed it, Primas. You already know you may use a white gondola as well, but only with your mentor on board, and may not take on paying passengers.

"Another thing about our gondolas. As gondoliers began to share the waterways of Man-Home's Venice with motorized craft, they had to find a way to deal with the wakes these left behind. In answer, the sides and the tail were raised, putting the gondolier higher and providing better resistance to wave action. Here's one video clip of a gondolier and his customers being caught in the wake of a police launch. Watch how calm he remains. Do you think you can remain as composed as he was, if you were in the same situation?" A short film flashed onstage, degraded somewhat by color bloom, a fascinating glimpse of a time and place that were no more. "Now, since we here in Neo-Venezia don't have much of the same problem, due to our strict laws and the easy availability of services by air, our designers are free to lower the tail as well as the freeboard. It makes it easier to duck under bridges, doesn't it?" There was a wave of appreciative chuckling.

"Most of you have probably already noticed that some gondolas are more symmetrical than the older designs. This has its advantages when rowing outside the Neo-Venezia limits, in open water, or if you ever decide to participate in the Vogare Longa or similar races, which I strongly encourage you to do. However, a straight design also has its disadvantages, in that it becomes harder for a single _undine_ to control the gondola. But that is why you're all training hard, right? So it isn't a real handicap at all."

Nods and murmurs of assent, some matter-of-fact, some acquiescing, some determined.

A Q & A portion took up the next hour, with Alicia and Mr. Tadao fielding all sorts of questions from the eager Pairs. These ran the gamut from uniforms to companies, and at the end the smiling old man thanked everyone for coming and Alicia gave some parting words of encouragement, which stuck in Ai's mind for a long time afterward.

"You know that being an _undine_ also requires the use of many other skills. Most people call them skills, but I like to call them graces. Each of us is gifted with a set of graces that we must discover and nurture. Then we can grow in our craft and return the blessings given to us, and give our guests a glimpse of something beyond themselves, whether it be the glory of a vanished era, the beauty of a single day here on Aqua, or the admiration for what the people of this world have accomplished in so short a time. On behalf of the Gondola Association, I wish you good luck, and thank you for being here with us today."

People applauded and began to stand up. As Signor Tadao had announced that there were snacks waiting for the Pairs in the foyer, about half the assembled crowd left the room. The other half, however, made a beeline for Alicia, besieging her with personal introductions, requests for autographs, and questions. Lucy stopped playing with President Aria, and Ai could almost see her ears prick up like a wolfhound's as she said, "Whoops, it looks like I might be needed. Excuse me. And excuse me, President Aria." The redhead rose from her seat and began to make her way to the blond woman at the center of the milling crowd.

----------oOo----------

In a minute or two Lucy was back, bending down and whispering to Ai.

"She told me to tell you not to leave. She wants to talk to you."

"Huh? O-okay."

It was a full ten minutes before Alicia could break free from the crowd and approach Ai. Lucy, meanwhile, had gone to help to tidy the place up and was nowhere to be seen.

"My my," went Alicia. "I hope I didn't make you wait too long, Ai dearest."

Ai shot to her feet. "Of course not, Miss Alicia! You were great up there."

"Thank you. Are you going back to Aria Company?" Alicia bent down and scooped the cat up, putting him forehead-to-forehead with her. "President Aria, how are you? Haven't seen you in quite a while!"

"_Puinyuu!_" the cat squealed with delight. Alicia hugged him and Aria rubbed his face against her cheek.

Ai nodded. "Yes, ma'am. We don't have any more guests for today. Senior Akari's waiting for us to come back."

"Oh, good! Would it be a great bother if I came along? I'd like to surprise her."

"Not at all! I'd be honored to bring you to Aria Company, Miss Alicia!"

"My my, so enthusiastic," Alicia smiled. "Not this time."

"I'm sorry?"

"Lucy has been doing an admirable job bringing me here and there all day," explained Alicia. "This time I'm going to bring _you_ to Aria Company. No complaints, please. Give me a chance to feel like an _undine_ again."

The last was said somewhat quietly, and Ai thought a faint pink flush stained the older woman's cheeks as she continued cooing at Aria and stroking his fur.

----------oOo----------

Alicia disappeared into a restroom at the back of the Dogana, and when she came out she had changed into slacks, pumps, and discarded her blazer. Under it she had been wearing a sleeveless black sweater. A gold pendant with a perfectly round violet gemstone hung twinkling around her neck.

"So, let's go."

Lucy stretched a hand out. "Madam, your bag."

"It's alright, Lucy, I can—"

"Your husband gave me strict instructions, Miss Alicia," said Lucy, adamant. "Your bag, please."

Alicia chuckled. "Okay, okay, here it is," she said in surrender. Handing it over to Lucy, she shrugged helplessly at Ai. "Take us to your gondola, Miss Undine."

Ai led the way out the door, holding it open for Alicia and President Aria. Behind them, Lucy staggered at the weight of her burde, trying very hard to make light of her difficulty. When she reached the glass-paneled exit, her venom-filled glare doused Ai's spirit of inquiry and helpfulness.

"I don't know what she keeps in here," the Single grumbled _sotto voce_, "and I've been carrying it all day. But don't say a word. Just don't."

----------oOo----------

Akari was waiting for them, standing at the rail. She had been waving vigorously for the last minute or so, ever since she had apparently recognized who was rowing Ai's boat. Where she got her boundless energy, Ai had no idea. Or rather, Ai had an idea, but didn't want to admit it to herself because it made her feel mousy in comparison.

"Aliciaaaaaa! Hi!"

"Long time no see, Akari!" The gondola glided to a stop, positioned perfectly at the ramp of Aria Company. Alicia helped the junior _undine_ off, moored the craft, and gave the sweep to Akari.

"Please step carefully . . . it's so good to see you!"

They made their way up the ramp. "Same here. How are you?"

"Oh, same old. I was a bit surprised to see you at the helm." Akari's glance caught Ai.

Alicia giggled. "Oh, I asked her if I could do that. I haven't held an oar for the longest time. Please don't scold her, Akari."

"Huh? I wasn't going to." Akari took a step back and looked Alicia up and down. "You're more beautiful than ever."

"Really, you're embarrassing me." The one-time Prima motioned to Lucy. "I'd like to introduce you to Lucy—"

Human beings are curious things. Just when Alicia was introducing her to the current Prima of the famous Aria Company—the one who was well known for being able to instill a sense of wonder and awe in all of her guests—and just when Akari had turned her gaze on her, an attack of shyness overcame Lucy. She timorously took a step forward, smiling sheepishly.

"Evonridge," someone finished, but it wasn't Alicia. "She and I met yesterday," Ai revealed, placing a hand at the small of the Single's back and pushing her towards Akari. "We were practicing together."

"P-pleased to m-meet you," stammered the object of their attention, bowing at the waist.

Alicia smiled. "Oh, so that's why you seemed to know each other already."

"Y-yes, well, the truth is . . ." Lucy swallowed. "I accidentally hit her gondola yesterday and almost made her fall into a canal."

Akari's raised a brow. She turned to Ai. "I was wondering where that dent came from." Her voice became gentle. "Ai-chan, I was waiting for you to tell me."

Ai flinched. "I'm sorry! I was going to tell you . . . I was afraid you were going to get mad at me."

"Well, I was sort of disappointed when you didn't say anything about it yesterday." Akari placed a hand on her apprentice's shoulder. "But did you really think I'd get mad about such a small bump?"

Slowly Ai shook her head.

"I've already looked it over," said Akari, "and it's nothing a little filler and sanding won't cure. Senior Alicia, Lucy, care for some snacks? Jelly cookies and mint tea."

"Don't mind if I do. Actually . . . Akari, are you busy?"

The ponytailed Prima shook her head. "No, I was just doing the records and waiting for Ai to come back."

"If you have the time, I'd like to talk to you about something."

"Mm, sure! Food first, we mustn't keep the President waiting. This way, everybody!" Akari turned around and herded the junior _undine_ inside the building. "This way! Up the stairs and sit down please!" Then she paused at the door for Alicia.

"Oh, Akari," Alicia commented, smiling. "Some things don't really change."

"What do you mean?"

Alicia laughed softly. "Nothing, nothing. What flavor are those jelly cookies?"

"Strawberry, lemon, chocolate. I was experimenting with different kinds of honey."

"Ah."

When they came upstairs they found the younger women standing around the dining table, waiting for them despite having been told to sit.

"Senior Akari, how'd you know there were going to be five of us?" asked Ai, looking mightily mystified at the five settings placed on the table. "Unless—you knew all along that Miss Alicia and Lucy were coming!"

Akari grinned. "Woman's intuition, as they say. I knew Alicia was the one conducting the seminar and had a feeling she might drop by. I also knew it was highly unlikely that she'd be alone. I kept it to myself because I wanted to surprise you—and her, too." Akari motioned with her hands. "Please, sit down. Let's eat!"

As they ate, Ai thought how amusing it was that both Akari and Alicia thought of surprising each other on the same occasion. Was it also a coincidence that both were Primas of Aria Company? She wondered if Grandma knew how special the company she started was. It felt so nice to live in a place of such serendipitous wonder.

----------oOo----------

"Those weren't cookies and cakes we just ate," said Lucy, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her tummy. In front of her sprawled a silent ruin of empty plates and used cutlery.

"What are you talking about?" Ai asked from across the table.

"Miss Akari fed us clouds. Little sweet clouds with lemon and strawberry fillings."

Ai smiled. "Here, have some tea to wash it down."

Reaching over, Lucy accepted the proffered cup. "Thanks." She blew on the brownish liquid. "Sweet things are a weakness of mine. And because I'm feeling so pleasant now, I'm not going to stay angry at you for laughing at me at the Dogana and almost giving me away to Miss Alicia."

"Sorry, but you were just so funny back there," Ai chuckled. "You were acting like her bag weighed a ton, when it was just a bit heavy."

"I beg to differ. There must be something about Aria Company that turns its _undine_ into weightlifters. But I don't want to argue with you. Truth is, I do have a tendency to clown around when I'm among friends," Lucy confessed.

"I have a tendency to be a wallflower in a large group," returned Ai. "Oh, and returning to sweet things, are sweet boys also included?"

"Why, yes. Roses, chocolates, a serenade, the works. If I knew anyone who'd do that in the first place." Lucy laughed and leaned forward. "There are some juicy tidbits I've seen walking around your school, Ai. Seeing any of them?"

"Nope. Too busy." Ai looked to where Alicia and Akari were standing outside on the second-floor walkway, framed by one of the full-length glass doors and lit the reflections off the water. They were talking quietly to each other. President Aria was there as well, sitting on the deck between the two, looking up at them and listening.

Beyond them the day was ending. The sky was golden yellow, just beginning to turn orange; the sea was blue-green and shining with innumerable ripples. One of the departing SSSA liners formed an irregular black dot in the sky, a twinkling particle headed back to Man-Home far, far away.

"I'm starting to think boyfriends and 'being an _undine_' aren't compatible with each other," Ai remarked. "Oh, wait. There's Senior Aika, who's seeing Uncle Al. But she doesn't seem to be the norm."

"Aika?"

"She's the daughter of the family that owns Himeya."

"Oh, her! The one who runs the Himeya office near—where was that—Santa Lucia?"

"The very one."

"I see her often around those parts." Lucy sipped at her drink. "But she's in a rather different position, don't you think? She can't leave Himeya. There'd be no one else in their family to run it."

"Well, I can't just leave Aria Company either, can I?"

"I suppose not. Heh, but if that ever happens—" Lucy's tone of voice indicated her disbelief "—Miss Akari could find another apprentice. Same with me. But the Granzchestas _are_ Himeya. They practically founded the whole _undine_ industry in Neo-Venezia. I don't think I'd like to be in Miss Aika's shoes and retire. Then I'd be—"

"The one who caused their house to come tumbling down," Ai continued for her. She looked thoughtful. "You know, I never really realized how hard it must be for Senior Aika, being in her position and having to prove herself worthy of her family. Whenever she visits, she's always so upbeat."

"Maybe she loves her work."

"Or maybe Uncle Albert inspires her so."

"Could be. One thing's for sure—they're very rich. I wonder what it'd be like to live that kind of life—being waited on hand and foot, owning a fleet of gondolas, going around in a private yacht, that stuff."

"Hmm. Senior Aika never gave me the impression that she was rich. To me she's more like, you know, just Miss Akari's friend. They help each other, share secrets, gossip, that sort of thing."

Whatever Lucy was going to say was interrupted by a shriek from outside. The two looked up in time to see Akari hug Alicia.

"Congratulations!" they heard her shouting, her voice muffled by the glass. "Congratulations!"


	4. That One Night

Aria (c) Kozue Amano, Mag Blade, Hal Film Maker.

Thank you for the reviews.

* * *

That One Night

_Dear Mama,_

_ Undine-in-training here. How are you? How's Papa? How's sis? How's Aqua? I miss you guys. I fibbed to Miss Akari about it a while back—just a bit, she's a sensitive person and I didn't want to make her worry. Aside from that, everything's just peachy. I can't believe there's so much to learn about this city. The next time you visit, I'll take you on a tour. Honestly, we barely scratched the surface when we were all here before. Only don't go expecting something as flawless as Miss Akari's service, since I've got a ways to go before I'm anywhere near as good as her. I'm managing to attend my classes (I'm sure you got my grade card, but I'm enclosing the latest anyway), so it looks like I'll be able to get my diploma in the time I promised you and Papa._

_ By the way, remember Miss Alicia? Boy, do I have news for you . . . _

-oOo-_  
_

Look at Neo-Venezia from high above, and you'll find it roughly resembles a fish. On part of the fish's underbelly is the Riva degli Schiavoni, a long road beside the water famous for the establishments and sights that line it and the panoramic views of the lagoon it offers. Walk one way, and you'll end up at the Marco Polo Spaceport and the Piazza San Marco. Walk the other, and you'll soon come to a small two-story building standing just offshore, connected to the mainland (such as it is) by a slender bridge. From the land you will see a pair of walkways running the circumference of the building, an arched door flanked by round windows, and a shingled roof partly covered by vines; approaching from the water, you will spy a long counter window on the first floor and a large welcome sign above the second, with a ramp on the structure's right side descending into the water. A _palina_ stands there, painted white with blue trim. This is Aria Company. One day in 2306, it was a very happy place.

One bouncing _undine_ became two as Ai joined Akari in revelry. "Congratulations, Ms. Alicia! Is it a boy or a girl?"

The woman with the golden hair smiled, her cheeks as pink as a freshly-scrubbed baby's. It seemed she was too overcome by happiness to speak, so Akari prompted her, "Well, don't keep us in suspense!"

"Both."

"Twins? Wow! You really _are_ lucky! This calls for a celebration!" Grabbing Alicia's and Ai's hands in her own, Akari began to whirl them around in a spontaneous ring-around-the-rosy.

"Oh my," laughed Alicia, who endured several seconds of spinning. "I'm getting dizzy, Akari! Please slow down!"

"Sorry!"

As if on cue Lucy offered her one of the two seats she had brought from inside. Alicia nodded her thanks and sat herself, while Akari took the other.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, let me rest for a bit."

Alicia stayed quiet for a while, and Ai brought her a glass of water. After taking a sip, she thanked Ai and leaned back in the chair.

"Miss Alicia, who else knows?" Ai asked.

"Oh . . . there's Akira, and the senior members of the Gondola Association. Aside from them, you're the first." Alicia sighed, looking at out at the darkening water. "Remember that one of the reasons why I retired was to help promote the _undine_ industry and Neo-Venezia."

Akari nodded. "You've been very visible. I know you've been talking to many influential people and traveling to Man-Home."

"And you're on TV quite a bit," commented Lucy.

"Well, I have to stop that for a while," said Alicia. She laid a hand on her stomach. "The stress isn't good for my children, so my doctor says."

"Isn't taking a break a blessing?" said Ai. "Why do you look worried, Miss Alicia?"

"Ai dear, the work I'm doing is very important, and it makes me uneasy to have to drop it at this point in time." Alicia reached out and squeezed Akari's shoulder. "At least it means I'll get to see you guys more often."

"_Nyu!_"

"Of course I meant you too, President Aria."

-oOo-

That evening Akari, aided by Ai's puppy-dog-eyes acting, cajoled Alicia into staying over for dinner. It was already five PM and dark was settling quickly on Neo-Venezia. A cool sea breeze provided some welcome relief for the city's denizens after the warm day.

Ai looked for Lucy and found her standing outside at the rail, silently gazing out at the dusk, at the dimming sea which still glinted faintly in the distance. Her green-trimmed uniform hung limply on her frame. Akari and Alicia had moved inside and were busy making dinner; President Aria, as was his wont, was with them, in attendance.

"The view here's pretty, isn't it?" the Pair ventured, coming to stand beside the redhead. She looked sideways. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing important," replied Lucy. "Could I use your phone? I need to call my teacher. She's probably wondering where I am."

"Sure. Come on, I'll show you where it is."

They made their way downstairs and led Lucy to the corner where their quaint but thoroughly modern phone hung. Lucy dialed, but when the person at the other end answered, the screen remained blank except for phone number.

"Hello . . . yeah, it's me. I'm going to be a little late. I'm still with Miss Alicia . . . where? Here in Aria Company. Yes, that's right. I'm not kidding. I have someone here who can prove I'm telling the truth. Would you? Okay, well, I sort of left my gondola back at the—what? Who? Who brought it there? Okay. _Grazie._ I'll just take the vaporetto. Of course I won't get lost."

Someone tapped Lucy's shoulder. She turned around and found Akari smiling at her. The Prima motioned for the handset.

"Um, hold on. Someone wants to speak to you—I'll let you guess who." Looking a bit apprehensive, Lucy turned the phone over to Akari.

"Good evening. This is Akari Mizunashi of Aria Company. I'm sorry we're keeping Lucy late. We're having a celebration of sorts and I just wanted to ask if she could stay over for dinner—" Akari waved away Lucy's frantic hand motions "—and I'll bring her home. Yes, by nine PM. You live near San Barnaba, right? I'm sure Lucy can direct us. Before nine, then. Thank you very much!"

Akari gave the handset back to Lucy, an amused expression on her face. The Single looked like she was going to have a nervous fit within the next minute or so.

"Yello. Yes, Ma'am. Yes. No, I won't. I have my key, so don't wait up, okay? Bye-bye."

Lucy put the phone down.

"I guess it's a bit too late to ask if you'd like to join us for dinner," chuckled Akari.

"I-I don't want to impose—"

"Nonsense! You're the first _undine_ Ai has ever brought here, so we have two things to celebrate tonight."

Lucy looked at Ai. "I'm the . . . come on, you've got to be kidding me," she said.

"It's the truth," Ai said, smiling timidly. "May I have to take President Aria to the vet _and _give him a bath on the same day I have a Math exam if I'm lying." She did a little bow, extending a hand in the general direction of the staircase. "So—come upstairs?"

Lucy broke into a grin. "Okay, okay. You're all in this together, aren't you?" Her words were addressed to Alicia, who at that point was coming down to see what all the talking was about. "I wish you'd told me about my gondola, _Signora_."

"Sorry about that. I was going to tell you, but you acted before I could." Alicia smiled apologetically.

The Single threw her hands up, laughing. "I yield! Thank you for having me over. When I grow old . . . when I grow old I'll be sure to write about the Aria Company conspiracy against me. A conspiracy of kindness."

"Really? In that case, your brain will need lots of nutrition if you're to remember it until then. Does anyone object to soft-shelled crab in peanut sauce? My hubby taught the recipe to me."

-oOo-

_. . . and I've met this _undine_. She's a Single, also from Man-Home, but has lived on Aqua for many years. She's a rather strange person . . ._

To take a trip through nighttime Neo-Venezia was still a treat for Ai, even though she had been visiting the city since she was young. Then, she was a child and a visitor, accompanied by her parents to the Carnevale and the popular sights. Now she was an _undine_—a trainee, of course, but still an _undine_—and older. Things she missed the first time round she now noticed, and was glad she had a chance to experience them again.

Now she was also seeing the lesser-known places of Neo-Venezia first-hand, trying to navigate them in the dark in her gondola, with two passengers on board. "Glad" would perhaps be a dubious term to use for that time, she thought as she, negotiating a right-hand turn too fast, quickly realized her mistake, hefted her sweep in front of the rowlock, and rowed _siada bassa_, frantically to keep her boat from hitting the sidewalk adjoining the left side of the canal. Yes, she thought, letting out a hysterical giggle as thoughts of a bone-jarring collision, major humiliation and the resulting look on Akari's face played in her mind. Not glad. "Risky" and "embarrassing" would probably be more fitting.

_Oh no oh no oh no nonononono!_ she mentally shrieked as the prow seemed to glide serenely and unstoppably into the waiting embrace of two poles marking a _stadio,_ or mooring station. She was about to step down from the deckto come nearer to the front and use her sweep to push away from the bank, when both Akari and Lucy reached out with their arms, and with firm pushes saved her from disaster.

They both looked up at her, faces highlighted by the lantern on the _ferro_. Ai chuckled sheepishly as the black boat bobbed in the water, slowing down. "Uh . . . oops?"

"It's okay, you're doing fine," said Akari. "These are really narrow canals. Take your time. We're not in a hurry." It was only eight-thirty, and they were practically there.

Lucy, seated facing backwards, said, "I'm sorry for putting you through this much trouble."

"It's no trouble," said Akari, turning and looking upside-down at her pupil. "Want me to take over?"

Ai shook her head. She gritted her teeth and started sculling again, and this time she exercised more concentration in anticipating her heavy craft's movement.

-oOo-

"Well, here we are."

The property was not so different from most Neo-Venetian buildings, following their forebears' design in making the most of their allotted space, built up to and opening straight onto the canal; but when Akari caught first sight of the water entrance, yellowing fine-grained concrete arcing around an enclosure that served as a small pier, she had a tiny flash of dread.

It wasn't due to the design of the building, typical Neo-Venetian rococo, or the somewhat decrepit state it was in, all worn and fittings and moldings stained by rust-red time. Rather, the feeling was due to the three-foot-high statues of two sitting dogs which flanked the enclosure, each facing the canal. They were sleek and black, unmoving yet menacing. Their blank eyes forever challenged any miscreant to invade their territory; their open, toothy mouths promised eternal retribution for doing so. They were so out of place that Akari felt strange just looking at them. She knew it was superstitious, but if she had a choice she would stay well away from their sightless gaze.

Lucy cautiously stood up and coaxed Ai into the proper position outside the enclosure. "I'm sorry, but we only have room inside for two boats," she apologized. Akari could indeed see two boats inside—they appeared to be gondolas, one white and one black. More details were hidden in the darkness beyond the lantern's light.

The pier had an L-shaped landing, with the recess housing the boats and the short arm facing the canal. Lucy jumped onto it and turned, standing at the edge of the lantern light. Her face shadowed and invisible, she said, "Please, won't you come in?" Her voice sounded somewhat muffled and distorted by the muddy echoes coming off the walls and the water.

Just then a white light flickered into life from the rear of the space. "Welcome back, Lucy. And I see and welcome Miss Mizunashi and her apprentice," said a woman's voice. It was cool and soft, reminding the Prima of her visit to the Inari shrine with Alicia long ago, and sun showers under the young green leaves of the trees.

"Ah!" The Single turned. There was mild reproof in her voice. "Vision, you stayed up."

At the far end of the room was an open door with a frosted window, above which a single bulb provided the light which illuminated their surroundings. A figure appeared in this doorway. "It's not every day we have such distinguished visitors."

The woman was, in Akari's judgment, about forty to fifty years old. She was tall—almost as tall as Athena Glory, Akari estimated. Long, wavy brown hair fell down the sides of her face. Her gray eyes were their friendly and solicitous as she gazed upon them, and her quiet demeanor reminded Akari of a sleepy owl roosting in the hollow of a tree.

"Won't you stay a while?" the woman asked. She tugged on the simple pastel-green housedress she wore.

Akari quietly looked at Ai, who seemed a bit worn out by her efforts. "For a while, perhaps. Thank you."

Lucy helped her disembark. As she crossed the threshold, she felt as if a dozen geckos with ice-cold feet had crept under her uniform and were skittering around on her shoulders. She looked at Lucy's cautiously optimistic face and shook the sensation off. Old and dreary—how rude to think so of someone's home, she thought. It must be the dark. The place probably looked better in the daytime.

"Hey, your turn," Lucy said to Ai, who seemed to be looking for something.

"Wait, how do I fasten—"

"Leave that to me. Come on."

With a hop Ai was on the landing, and Lucy took a length of rope from where it had lain coiled at the corner of the enclosure and used it to moor the gondola.

Akari watched and made sure all was okay, then turned back to the door. The geckos tap-danced on her shoulders again when she saw the shape behind the woman at the door, and she stiffened. At first she thought there was a third dog statue and it had somehow come to life; but then the woman looked back and exclaimed, "Hello, I didn't know you were there! Come to greet our guests as well?"

The shape shrank into an ordinary dog, deep-chested and long-legged. It was black with a brown underside, with downturned silky ears and a tapered muzzle. The dog's tail wagged a bit but remained down low, as if the animal were unsure about her. Black eyes gazed at Akari with uncommon—and somehow un-canine—interest.

"This is our friend," said the woman. "Sasha, say hello." Whereupon the dog ambled over to Akari, sat on its haunches, and raised its right paw.

"She wants you to shake it," Lucy prompted.

Akari took the paw in her hands and gave it a gentle pump. "Nice to meet you."

Sasha yipped, the sound reverberating off the walls. She looked at Ai, then walked over to her and repeated the gesture.

"Oh, she looks so . . . so dignified," the amused Pair said as she shook the proffered paw. "She looks like a . . . what do you call it, a wolfhound."

The woman in the doorway blinked her gray owl eyes and smiled. "Close. She's a saluki, _related_ to the wolfhound," she explained in a somewhat singsong voice. "You have a knowledgeable student, Miss Akari."

Akari smiled and looked at Ai, who turned away, blushing.

"Come, let's get out of the damp."

The _undine_ of Aria Company and their new friends filed inside the house, closing the door and turning out the light, leaving the dock to the darkness of the Neo-Venezian night.

-oOo-

A 'little while' lengthened into an hour. Ai and Lucy had scrambled to the latter's room, while the Primas remained in a small, comfortably appointed parlor on the second floor. Sasha the saluki stayed with them, lying on a throw rug beside her owner's chair, her eyes moving from one woman to another, as if listening.

It was a cozy little room, filled with bookshelves and bric-a-brac. Two soft velour seats faced an unlit fireplace. On a small table in the center of the room lived an unassuming African violet in its red pot, and framed photos decorated the walls. A soft woodsy scent, as of sandalwood but less heavy, permeated the place.

"So you're also from Man-Home, Ashleen?" Akari inquired.

The Vision nodded. "Yes. I left many years ago, when I was twenty. I met my husband here. We were married in I Gesuati." She chuckled, and her dangling hand idly scratched Sasha's head. "I don't know what he saw in me, with so many beautiful women around. Anyway, I became enamored of them myself, and so I resigned my post and became the oldest Pair in Neo-Venezia."

Akari cocked her head. "You mean you had a profession before you became an _undine_?"

"Oh, indeed. I was a biologist before. I graduated at nineteen and came to Aqua hoping to study its wildlife." The cool chuckle sounded again. "I shouldn't have picked this city to stay in. It is a thief. It stole my heart, and now its water runs in my veins. I don't think I could write a study now even if I tried. There's so much to see, so much to do here."

"I know what you mean," Akari sympathized. "There are still places I haven't been to on Aqua myself. I'd love to see them, if I ever have the time." Akari took a bite of the flat bacon-filled bread that the woman had served along with green tea. "Your husband is away, I take it."

The older woman nodded. "His work. He's often gone for weeks on end, and Lucy, Sasha and I are left alone here. That girl—" Vision gave a sigh "—kept on insisting she wanted to be an _undine_, so her father asked if I could tutor her. She's a good girl, if high-spirited and stubborn at times. She also likes playing pranks on other people, and not even I have been spared her tricks. She hasn't caused you any trouble, has she?"

Akari shook her head. "None at all."

"Could I ask something?"

"What is it?"

"Your Pair—Ai, her name is, right? How'd she become your student?"

"Oh, it's a long story." Akari told how they met, and how Ai became her friend and how she would visit Aria Company whenever her family came to Neo-Venezia, and how she eventually became Akari's student after Alicia had retired. At the end of her story Vision smiled and nodded.

"That explains some things."

"What do you mean?"

"I will be frank with you, Miss Akari." The owl-woman looked directly at Akari. "I've always heard of how special Aria Company was ever since Akino Ametsuchi founded it, from both _undine_ and my customers, and I now begin to see it myself. The blessings of the city lie greatly on you."

"T-thank you, that's very flattering, but I'm just a Prima—"

"I didn't mean to embarrass you," the other Prima cut in smoothly, "and I beg your pardon. Of late I have been living up to my title more and more."

"What do you mean?"

Ashleen sighed. "It's said I can see things. Which is great for parties, but sometimes scares people away. When I was younger, some actually crossed themselves, thinking I'd put the Evil Eye on them."

"Why would—oh."

The Vision looked at Akari, and her eyes of shining steel said, "I'm afraid so. I can't do much about other people's perception of me, but I may be able to do something for my Single. It will take your indulgence, though, Miss Akari."

"What do you mean?"

"I hope you won't mind if my Lucy continues to train with your Ai."

"You don't have to ask me for permission."

"You are Ai's teacher. You're responsible for her while she's training, her parent away from home. I cannot do otherwise."

"Well, um . . . I'm the wrong person to ask." Akari smiled helplessly, glancing up the stairs where the two junior _undine_ had gone.

Ashleen stood and went, calling up the stairs for their juniors. They came clattering down the steps, causing Sasha to raise his head.

"Ai dear," Akari said, "I have a very important question to ask."

The green-haired Pair stood attentively, indicating that Akari should continue.

"Is it okay if Lucy continues training with you?"

"Huh? Of course it is!"

Akari turned to the older woman and smiled. "There you have it."

Ashleen Wittkower smiled back. "Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you."

-oOo-

It was well past almost ten PM when the Aria Company _undine_ arrived back at their little house. They moored their gondola and made their way to their office table, where Ai set down some magazines she'd been carrying.

"Sticking my hand in that statue's mouth was creepy. I think Lucy tied the rope there as some sort of joke," she remarked as she and Akari sat down. "She was already telling me ghost stories when it was time to leave."

"Maybe she has an offbeat sense of humor? But I thought that was okay with you."

"It is, it's no big deal. What did you think of Miss Wittkower, Akari-san?"

"Well . . . she seems a decent, serious sort of person. Quite different from her student." Akari glanced at the magazines. "Quilting? I didn't know you were interested in that."

"Not really, but—" she leaned across and cupped a hand to her mouth "—I want to give President Aria a present he won't expect." She gestured with her hands, outlining a large

Akari looked thoughtful. "Hmm, true, he doesn't have a large blanket of his own. Now I guess it's time to get some rest. I'm—"

The sound of footsteps came from upstairs. Prima and Pair looked at each other, alarmed.

"Don't tell me she's still here?" whispered Akari.

Ai stood and was about to bound up the stairs when Alicia appeared.

"Oh, welcome back," she said as she came down. "I hope you don't mind, Ai dear, I used your bathroom."

"No problem, but I thought your husband was going to pick you up, Ms. Alicia."

"Did something happen?" Akari asked.

Alicia nodded. "He called and said he was going to be late, so I told him I'd sack out here." Smiling shyly, she added, "Sorry for being presumptuous."

"Not at all. We'd be happy to have you over!" Akari said.

"Yeah, you can sleep on my bed!" Ai agreed.

"Nonsense, you should sleep in it. I won't mind sleeping on the floor, since it's unexpected."

Ai shook her head. "And what kind of person would I be if I let that happen?"

Akari looked at them and stomped a foot. "Oh, now I'm jealous. Just you wait, I'll get my things and sleep here too!"

"Are you sure about that?" Alicia pursed her lips. "Isn't there, well, someone waiting for you at home?"

Ai laughed as the unmarried Akari turned beet red. "_Hahi!_ I'm shocked you'd even suggest something like that, Ms. Alicia!"

The elder woman laughed in sympathy. "Sorry, Akari dear, I was only kidding!"

-oOo-

It was around two AM when Akari woke and, feeling thirsty, went downstairs for a drink of water. She found the light was on and the door leading to the second-floor balcony was open, so she had a look and found her senior standing silently outside, looking skyward, so still that in her flowing nightgown she might have been one of the city's statues, come down from its lofty perch for some nocturnal solitude. She was leaning on the railing, a black mug in her hand; a hatless President Aria was at her side. At the seaward corner of the railing, a black-headed gull stood on one leg, dozing, its head tucked protectively back in its wing, dreaming dreams that only birds could dream, of flight and wings and wind and water and fish.

"Couldn't sleep?" Akari whisper-greeted.

Alicia turned. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I was thirsty. Why are you out here?"

"Well," chuckled the blond woman, "let's just say that I shouldn't have drunk so much brown tea."

"Mind if I join you?"

Alicia smiled and gestured. "There's some hot chocolate on the counter if you want some."

"Maybe later." The gull croaked, and out came the pointed orange bill, the creature surveying them sleepily. Then it apparently decided they were no threat and sank back into slumber.

Akari, who had put a finger to her lips, put her hand down and walked slowly, noiselessly, to her former teacher, standing by her side.

"Is Ai still asleep?"

Akari nodded. "The trip to San Barnaba must've tired her out. She was very excited and happy."

"I didn't know she snored." Alicia's voice held a hint of amusement, which made Akari titter.

"She only does that when she's tired."

"How is she, really, Akari?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you thinking of promoting her to Single soon?"

"Maybe." Akari leaned on the rail, facing the same direction as Alicia. "She's a bit erratic. But I don't have any doubt she'll be good enough to qualify as a Single." Akari looked out at the dark waters underneath the starlit sky. "Soon, perhaps. Soon."

They were interrupted by President Aria, who bid them goodnight and went inside. They watched him trudge up the stairs.

"He's growing old," Alicia said sadly. "Just like Grandma. I worry about her, but my busy schedule's kept me from visiting her as much as I'd like."

"I've always admired her for having the guts to live alone like that," Akari commented. "President Aria's still always on the go, Alicia, always arranging the books, tidying up the tables, fetching Ai from school, chasing after President Hime." Akari smiled at the last. "Want to visit Grandma?"

"In a day or two. Chasing after President Hime, you say?"

"Oh, it's a long story. Aika and I found out about it by accident—he's been doing that all the time, it seems, and we never really noticed."

"Is that so?" Alicia sipped her chocolate, then licked her lips. "Ahh. I always knew he was interested in President Hime, but I never thought he was _that_ interested. You'd think I'd know better, after living with him for so long." She propped her head on her left hand. "Did he hide it from us, or were we just too busy to notice?"

"The second. But you know what they say about cats—you can feed them, you can put a roof over their heads, but they're never really _yours._"

"True that." Alicia shifted to look at Akari. "You know, it makes me really happy to see Akari's Aria Company doing so well. I remember telling you that one day you'd have your own student and share things with her, the way I did with you. I'm glad it's Ai—it seems fitting, somehow."

"Well . . . it's because I had a good teacher, myself."

The White Fairy's face colored, and she looked away.

Akari was about to ask something when she heard a slight noise. Alicia seemed to hear it as well, because she cocked her head.

"Did you hear that?" Akari asked.

Alicia nodded. "It sounded like someone closing a door."

Both of them did a cursory inspection, walking around the balcony as quietly as they could, but they found nothing amiss and returned to their places. The bird awoke and, offended at their disturbance, squawked and flew off into the night, ghostly white wings disappearing into the inky darkness over the lagoon.

"Goodbye, Mr. Seagull," Akari said quietly. "Maybe it was from one of the nearby buildings."

"Probably," Alicia agreed. They fell silent, but heard nothing unusual anymore.

"I noticed you didn't take the earrings I gave you on your first-year anniversary as a Prima home with you," the elder woman remarked.

Akari blanched. "Y-you saw them?" That little gift stayed in a box in the walk-in closet upstairs, and she only wore it on special occasions.

"I was looking for one of the old photo albums."

"Well, I couldn't take them home," said Akari. "If I wore them every day, they might get lost and I couldn't bear that. Because . . . th-they were a gift from my Prima, they belonged here. Here, at Aria Company."

"I see." Alicia gave a nervous chuckle. "I thought . . . you might have not liked them or something."

"Of course not!"

"In that case, I think you ought to know something."

"What is it?"

"I know pearls aren't the right gemstones for your birthday, but I chose them . . . because they _were_ right—for the pearl of my life here as Snow White."

"Alicia . . . ." Akari sniffled and wrung her hands. Grabbing the nearest of her senior's arms, she snuggled against her, pressing cheek against shoulder, hiding her wet eyes. "I missed you so much! I didn't say it back then, didn't want you to lose faith in me, but even though you stayed until I was ready to be on my own, afterwards I . . . I still missed you a lot."

Alicia reached up and squeezed Akari's hands. "I missed you too."

Ensconced in their little sphere of emotion, neither noticed the round window above them, which had been ajar all the time, shut itself silently.

-oOo-

_. . . and maybe I'm starting to understand Miss Akari a little better. People can want to turn the clock back, but always, always, the hands keep moving forward, and lucky are the ones with happy memories. Even in Neo-Venezia, built as an image of the past but occupied by hearts of the present, time never stands still._

_ Well, I'll end this letter here. Love you lots._

_Ai._


	5. That Furtive Undine

That Furtive Undine

_Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.  
~Ralph Waldo Emerson_

"How about a break?" asked a breathless Single under the bright sky.

Ai shielded her eyes and looked up. "Yeah, I'll bet it's almost lunch," she panted.

"Holding up?"

"Yeah, fine. Traveling with another boat is a lot harder than I expected."

"You'll get used to it," said Lucy, slowing her gondola and coming alongside on Ai's right. "The foundation is your skill in handling the boat and anticipating what the other person might do." She grinned. "Jealousy, get thee behind me. I wish I was as good when I was a Pair."

"Thanks." Ai surveyed her surroundings. They were somewhat far from the city, practicing among the small islands just outside the lagoon. "That looks like a good spot." She pointed to a group of nearby islets, selecting the nearest, which had a tiny, gently sloping sandy beach.

"Seems fine. We can tie up to that rock over there."

- - - -oOo- - - -

Their boats secure in the shallow recess, Ai and Lucy walked along the high edge of the beach, where it met a low cliff and the sand turned into soil and trees. Ai carried a satchel over one shoulder, while Lucy carried a basket.

They stopped at a small thicket at the base of the cliff. There, Lucy spread a blanket out on the ground and Ai produced some plates, cutlery, and food from the basket, which she spread out on the light-brown cloth.

"It feels so peaceful here," she said, cocking her head and listening to the frothy hiss of the surf.

"Yeah, it's a nice quiet spot. Wish it'd get a bit more windy."

"We're on the lee side, I guess. And there's all this high ground in the way."

They sat down and began to eat. There was _sarde in saor_, crusty sausage bread flecked with parsley, and soft white cheese, washed down by chilled peach wine. With no need for urgency, the two savored each morsel bite by crispy bite, sweet onion, salty capers, peppery, chewy meat, and tangy buds all.

Lucy removed her glasses and started cleaning them with a small cloth. She misted them with her breath, rubbed some more, then put them back on. "This is the life," she said as she leaned carefully against a handy rock. "I believe whoever it was who said food tastes better after hard work."

"It sure looks like you do, since you've eaten almost twice what I did," Ai agreed wryly as she licked the oil off her fingers. "_Zhoop!_ Like a vacuum cleaner."

"I did not!"

"Yes, you did. Do you want a list? There's half of one sausage loaf, all of one bottle of the sardines, three-fourths the—"

"Alright, alright! I admit it! What are you, an accountant?" Embarrassed, Lucy waved at the remaining food. "Sorry, you can have whatever's left."

"I was just kidding. I'm full. Let's save what we've got."

For several minutes they rested in slumbrous silence, Ai lying on the blanket barefooted, her head pillowed on her laced hands, watching white clouds drifting by past the frond canopy.

"I remember," she said. "I remember the first time Miss Akari brought me out to a beach here on Aqua. We were with Miss Alice and Miss Aika."

"'Miss Alice?'"

"Mmm? Oh, Alice Carroll. She's from Orange—"

"Oh, _that_ Alice. I know who she is, then. _Everyone_ knows who she is." Lucy came off the rock and lay down on the blanket, so that she lay in the opposite direction to Ai, their heads touching, both girls looking up at the sky.

"You were saying," the Single prompted.

"Oh, yeah. Well, that day was like a dream. I remember the heat, the waves, the bright blue sky—" Ai reached out with a hand into the air and made a grasping motion "—and everyone so happy. Miss Aika was arguing with Miss Alice on how to properly cook the steaks they were grilling, and . . . Miss Akari threw me into the water."

"She did?"

"Oh, she was laughing and all that. The water was so cool and refreshing, I didn't mind." Ai closed her eyes. "I don't think I'll ever forget that day."

- - - -oOo- - - -

_ "It's so high, Miss Akari!"_

_ "It's safe, trust me!" A hand patted her on the shoulder. "You don't need to go if you don't want to. But it seems a shame to waste all that effort climbing . . . ."_

It's just a couple of meters_, Ai told herself as she slowly glanced down at the water. _Not that high_. "Okay, just give me some time to—hey!"_

_ Akari scooped Ai up in her arms. "You're heavier than you look," she remarked as she took a step towards the cliff. "You've grown a lot since we last met."_

_ "Miss Akari, what are—nooooooooo!"_

_ Akari smiled. "Take a deep breath!" Then her shoulders hunched a bit, and she hurled Ai into the air._

_ There was time enough for a scream, a gasp. The water hit Ai with enough force to shock, but she recovered quickly, scissoring upright and heading towards the surface as another splash drove a spear of white into the water._

_ Ai treaded water as Akari emerged into the sunlight, tossing her head back, sending a spray of sparkling droplets flying everywhere. She coughed a bit, then caught sight of Ai._

_ "You're horrible!" Ai spluttered._

_Akari swam over to her, apologizing. "Was it that bad?"_

_ "I've never been so frightened in my life," admitted Ai. _

"_Are you hurt or anything?"_

_Ai shook her head._

_Akari smiled. "Thank goodness."_

"_Hey!" a distant voice shouted. It was Aika standing on the shore, two-pronged fork in her hand. "Are you guys alright?"_

_ Akari waved. "We're fine!"_

"_Come on over, it's time to eat!"_

"_We'll be there!" Akari pivoted in the water. "Want to join them?"_

_Nodding, Ai heard a small voice that seemed to be coming from her. "I . . . I'm sorry about the outburst."_

"_It's okay. Come, some food will cure your condition." Akari grinned.  
_

- - - -oOo- - - -

_ For the rest of the day Ai climbed the cliff and dove off it again and again, until even taciturn Alice made a comment about "Miss Mermaid" wearing herself out. But Ai was also thinking at that time, and thinking, and thinking._

_ Near the end of their stay she asked Akari to come with her, so they stood where they were before. Ai was still in her one-piece light blue swimsuit, while Akari had already changed into shorts and a large, crinkly yellow pullover. The afternoon breeze blew over them._

_ "So what did you want to tell me, Ai dear?" asked Akari._

_ "About before—" Ai looked down the cliff._

_ "Yes?"_

_ "Miss Akari . . . I get the feeling that you were trying to tell me something."_

_ "What would that be?"_

"_Well . . . if I'm going to be your student, I'm going to have to put my trust in you. When I first thought of applying, I thought of all that could go wrong. To be honest, I still don't know how I made it this far. It all seems like a dream, and I haven't quite woken up yet." Ai smiled. "But you showed me my fears were untrue, just like today, here." She flicked her finger at the cliff. "So high, and yet I came down unhurt."_

_ "Ai . . . I don't know what to say. It takes a brave soul to come out here and chase a dream." _

_ "Well, there was this fifteen-year-old from Man-Home who did the same thing a couple of years ago . . . ."_

_ "Now I wonder who that could be."_

_ "I wouldn't know." Ai grinned. "But I heard she reached her dream. And she also inspired others to do the same."_

_ "Hahi . . . . so the little girl who ran away from her parents because she wanted a ride on Miss Alicia's gondola came to learn how to row one."_

_"More or less."  
_

_ A voice from below interrupted them. "Oi! I don't know what you two are talking about, but I bet it's prohibited!"_

_ Akari looked down. "And how would you know that, Aika?"_

_ The figure gazing up at them put her hands on her hips. "Stop holding hands, why dontcha?"_

_ Ai and Akari realized what they were doing and blushed. "Well," stammered Akari, "it was reflex! A-and anyway you couldn't do something as simple as this with Miss Akira, so there!"_

_ "Oh, yes I can. I just don't want to dignify your statement by proving it."_

_ "Crybaby!"_

_ "Wha—airhead!"_

_ "President Hime's more cultured than you!"_

_ "That is _so _lame, Akari!"_

_ "It's true, else Akatsuki wouldn't still be calling you Gachapen!"_

_ "How would that hot-headed ninny know anything about culture?"_

_ "What is all this yelling about?" Everyone turned to see Alice Carroll striding up the beach in her light green one-piece swimsuit, her hair done up in a braid that was pinned in a circle to the back of her head. "You two are so noisy!"_

_ "Come over here, Alice," Aika imperiously demanded. She glanced back up at the two still on the clifftop. "I'll show you!"_

_ "What is it, Senior Aika?"_

_ "Hold my hand."_

_ "What?"_

_ "Just do it, will you?"_

_ Alice did as Aika said. "Now what?"_

_ "Hey, Akari! Can someone uncultured do _this_?" Without warning Aika pulled Alice to her, put a hand around her waist, and launched into an impromptu tango across the beach. It took a moment for the flabbergasted Orange Princess to get in sync, but a heartbeat later they were kicking sand all over the place, dancing to an imaginary orchestra._

_ Akari and Ai were laughing so hard they had to fight to keep their balance. "Okay, okay, you win!" the Prima conceded. "I take it back! You are _not_ uncultured!"_

_ "But I question her sanity!" came Alice's voice, as Aika continued to lead her._

_ "How rude! I'm the most level-headed of everyone here!"_

_ "I'm sure Al will agree! Hey Aika, who'll hold the rose in their teeth, you or him?"_

_ "Why, him of course! I wouldn't want to seem too forward!" And twist, turn, turn, and one, two, one, two . . . ._

_ "I have to agree with Miss Alice," Ai said quietly as they watched the two separate and bow to each other._

_ "Oh, you know that's just Aika's way of doing things," rejoined Akari. "She's grown quite a lot these past few years."_

_ "What do you mean?"_

_ "Oh, nothing important." After a moment of fondly watching the two down on the beach, Akari turned to her new student. "Since we're up here anyway, how about one last swim?"_

_ "Eh? Mmm . . . alright, I'll wait for you."_

_ "Who said anything about changing?" Akari placed a hand on Ai's shoulder and grinned._

_ "_Now?_" Ai held on to the elder woman's forearm._

_ Akari cheerfully nodded; then, holding on to each other, they leapt into the sea, laughing like a couple of loons all the way down._

- - - -oOo- - - -

"Hey, Ai?"

"Mm?"

"Is there anyone famous you _don't_ know in Neo-Venezia?" asked Lucy, somewhat testily.

"Oh, lots. I don't know the Mayor, there's this lady I promised to sing for when I pass by their house again, and this guy I promised to meet in the Piazetta. I don't really know them . . . and then there's the _barcaroli_ who row the Bucintoro, haven't met them yet. And the people who live down south—"

"Alright, I get the picture. All of them famous, eh?"

"Mhm."

"You're weird, Ai."

"Says someone who fishes for breakfast while in bed."

"Well, you have to admit it's really convenient."

Ai chuckled. "I'm sure it is."

"Although I sometimes wish I could just lower the hook and snag something off the greengrocer's boat."

"This news just in: Single found starved to death in canal, waiting for fish to swim into her open mouth."

"Hah. I can live off sunlight and water, I'll have you know."

They lapsed into silence, and the duo listened to the rhythmic sound of the waves dissolving on the shore.

"You know," Lucy ventured, "you still haven't answered my question about why you want to be an _undine_."

"Maybe some other time."

"It must really be in your heart, since you came all the way from Man-Home. You must really love Neo-Venezia."

For one crazy moment Ai thought that her heart answered, betraying her and revealing her innermost secrets to the world by singing in joy. The feeling was startling, but it only lasted for a moment, cut short by the hushed voice of Lucy.

"Do you hear it?"

Ai looked at her and nodded. "Singing."

"Out here? Boy, the neighborhood's really getting crowded."

They got up and carefully looked around. Unwilling to be disturbed, they chose to conceal themselves as they searched for the source of the sound.

"Hey! Listen!" Ai inclined her head past the scrawny tree she was hiding behind. "On the water."

Lucy sidled up beside her. She saw a white gondola gliding noiselessly in the channel between their islet and its nearest neighbor. On the rear deck was a slender woman, gloveless and green-maned, singing to the guests seated in her boat as she handled her sweep with unconscious grace.

_The joyous birds, hid under greenwood shade,_  
_Sung merry notes on every branch and bough,_  
_The wind that in the leaves and waters played_  
_With murmur sweet, now sung, and whistled now;_

The woman's voice faded, and the passengers' clapping could be heard across the water.

"Miss Alice," said Ai, turning back to Lucy. "But why is she out here, of all places?"

Lucy, who was watching intently, answered. "Maybe her guests requested it. Or she doesn't want to be heard. But this song, it's not just an ordinary song for an _undine_ to sing."

"What do you mean?"

Lucy put a finger to her lips. "Wait."

A new voice rose above the water, carried on the breeze like the call of a lonely curlew.

_Ceased the birds, the wind loud answer made,_  
_And while they sung, it rumbled soft and low;_  
_Thus were it hap or cunning, chance or art,_  
_The wind in this strange music bore his part._

"Well, I'll be a whale with laryngitis," Ai said as a white gondola with a Prima and a single passenger came into view round the islet. "Miss Akari! But . . . I've never heard her do this before!" Perturbed, she looked to Lucy for some explanation, some guidance, anything that would explain what was happening before her. She thought she knew all about her mentor and her friends . . . it never occurred to her that some things might be withheld in such letters as Akari wrote, open-hearted and honest as they were.

"Ah," said Lucy, face frowning in concentration. "The tempo and key is different, threw me off." Lucy whispered. "But I know what they're singing."

Ai raised her eyebrows, bidding her continue.

"In the days before motorboats, gondoliers in old Venice would sing for their passengers, just like _undine_ do today. But they sometimes sang this poem, and other gondoliers would answer with another part of the same poem. Back and forth, back and forth. That's not done anymore, because the city, especially the Grand Canal and Giudecca, is too noisy now."

"How did you know all this?"

"Hmm? Oh, Vision taught it to me—she loves old-fashioned stuff." As Alice's voice rose again in song, they listened.

_With party-colored plumes and purple bill,_  
_A wondrous bird among the rest there flew,_  
_That in plain speech sung love-lays loud and shrill,_  
_Her voice was like human language true;_

Gliding on the water like a ghostly apparition, Akari approached the Orange Princess' boat from the stern, still singing, but softly, with a voice that was more intimate.

_So much she talked, and with such wit and skill,__  
That strange it seemed how much good she knew,__  
Her feathered fellows all stood hush to hear,  
Dumb was the wind, the waters silent were._

Then music stopped, and they heard the two exchange greetings as the gondolas came alongside, and saw the passengers wave to one other.

"Oh," said Ai in disappointment. "Is it over?"

"Who knows? Look, I've got an idea," Lucy said. "Let's get back to the boats, quickly!"

- - - -oOo- - - -

They donned their shoes and raced to their gondolas, leaving everything else behind. Lucy told Ai to ride in hers, and they unmoored the craft. Alice and Akari had stopped in the shallows near the other islet, near enough that they could clearly see them, but far enough so they remained concealed in their little bay.

"Maybe . . . " Lucy hedged as she stood on the _poppa_, "maybe this isn't such a good idea."

"We've gone this far. Do what you feel is right," said Ai, giving her a thumbs-up from the seat.

Lucy fretted as Alice continued to sing. Then she seemed to make up her mind, and straightened. "Here goes nothing," she muttered, propelling her craft slowly forward, emerging from cover. The white gondolas faced away from them, so for the moment they remained unseen.

_Then languisheth and dies in last extremes,_  
_Nor seems the same, that decked bed and bower_  
_Of many a lady late, and paramour;_

finished Alice. Lucy took a deep breath, and took up the song.

_"So, in the passing of a day, does pass_  
_The bud and blossom of the life of man,_  
_Nor e'er does flourish more, but like the grass_  
_Cut down, becomes withered, pale and wan._

Even with the distance separating them, the surprise was evident on the Primas and their passengers. Lucy rowed on towards them, still singing, given impetus by her nervousness. Ai sat expectantly on the seat, watching her and smiling.

_Oh gather then the rose while time you have_  
_Short is the day, done when it scant began,_  
_Gather the rose of love, while yet you may,_  
_Loving, be loved; embracing, be embraced."_

Lucy's voice petered out. They were in the middle of the channel, heading towards the white gondola. So might a pair of cubs, Ai thought, interrupt the serious business of two lovely, scornful lionesses with notions of play, only to be swatted and nipped painfully for their impudence. But what was done was done. What transpired could only be played out to its end.

The guests started clapping with all their might, showing their appreciation with loud praise. They were a dark-haired woman in Alice's gondola; a man in Akari's. The latter was dressed in dark clothes and had gray hair, while the former had a camera slung around her neck.

"That was amazing!" the man gushed. "Simply amazing!"

The woman looked up at the Orange Princess. "You planned this, didn't you, Miss Alice?"

Alice shook her head. "I didn't even know there was anyone else here. Hello, Ai."

"Good day, Miss Alice, Miss Akari." Ai bowed.

"Haha, imagine we'd meet here, Ai dear! What a surprise!" Akari said, nodding back.

Ai introduced Lucy to the passengers. "Forgive us for disturbing you," the Single meekly apologized, bowing twice, once for each voyager.

"Oh, disturb us again, by all means!" the man replied fervently. He was a handsome fellow, whose blue eyes sparkled at them. "That was well done, Miss Undine. If Alice here didn't insist that it wasn't staged, I would never have believed her."

"I—we were relaxing after practice over there," Lucy explained, waving at the island they had come from, "when we heard you singing Tasso. I just had to reply. I'm sorry for interfering."

"Please, Miss Evonridge. It's no imposition," the woman in Akari's gondola said, smiling. "This isn't exactly a regular trip."

"It's not?"

"No," replied Alice. "I was actually practicing for something very important." Glaring at them, she added, "And you two had better keep quiet about it."

"Pardon?"

"You never saw us and you never heard anyone sing. Got it?"

Ai was taken aback by Alice's stern tone. "Y-yes, Orange Princess."

"Alice dear, there's no need to be harsh," Akari said. She turned towards the two trainees. "It's something top secret, something Alice treasures a lot," she explained conspiratorially to them. "One rumor can upset plans that have been months in the making. I hope you understand."

"O-of course, Ma'am."

Suddenly the green-haired Prima put a fist to her mouth and coughed, a loud hacking sound that made the man stand up.

"You see? You see? I told you you were overdoing it. What'll we do if you lose your voice two weeks from now? Come here, come down."

"Why? What's going to happen two weeks from now?" Ai asked.

"In two weeks," said Alice, stowing her sweep and stepping onto the floorboards, "Athena Glory is coming back to Neo-Venezia for a show. I wanted to surprise her by showing up during her operetta." She reluctantly sat down on the backward-facing seat, her chest heaving. She gestured at the man beside her. "This is her manager."

"Adam Madranzo at your service," the man spoke, smiling at Ai and Lucy. "I came to Aqua to help Alice and prepare things for Athena's return."

"So you were going to sing in Miss Athena's show?" Ai asked Alice. The Orange Princess nodded.

"Actually, several of us—" Alice indicated Akari "—were also talking about reviving the old tradition, but only a few have the voices and the temperament to memorize. That's why you heard us singing 'Gerusalemme Liberatta'." She smiled wanly at Lucy. "You sounded pretty good."

"I-it was just nervousness," Lucy said, blushing. "I honestly didn't know if my head was going to be bitten off or not."

"Now just sit back and rest, Alice," Athena's manager said. "No more singing for today, or tomorrow."

"We still have to get back to the city, you know."

"Later. Let's rest a little. It's beautiful here, the sun's not too hot."

"We have some food, if you'd like to have a snack," Ai offered.

"We brought some of our own too," the woman said, smiling. "It's a good suggestion. Let's go to that island over there and have a break."

"Okay." The Prima began to stand, but the woman waved her back down.

"Hey, who said you could get up? I'll take us there."

Alice gave her a smirk. "You know, if the Orange Planet higher-ups ever saw me hand my gondola over to a guest, I'd probably get scolded. But since it's you, they probably wouldn't object. Are you sure you can handle it?"

"It doesn't look so hard. I just stand here and then . . . ."

Ten wobbly minutes later they were at the beach where Ai and Lucy had come from. Alice had to take over for the last part so she could carefully maneuver and secure her gondola.

"How did I do?" the woman asked as she stood on the shore, watching.

"Passable, for someone who's held the oar for the first time," Alice replied as she jumped down into the water and waded ashore.

"Miss Carroll, you are one cold taskmaster," the woman said, smiling and flexing her arms. "I suppose there's something to be said for the convenience of outboard motors."

"That's why I haven't gotten an apprentice. Can't get used to them yet, doing things like ambushing people with Canto Sixteen. Very, very disturbing."

The woman laughed.

The trainees led them to their previous picnic spot, and everyone unpacked the food and had a wonderful time. Before they left, the woman drew Ai and Lucy aside.

"I work with the _Monthly Undine_ magazine. Do you know it?"

"Of course!" answered Ai. "It has all those Prima photoshoots and profiles."

"True. In fact, I did most of those." The woman smiled. "I'm working on a similar project now, but with promising Singles and Pairs. I'd like to include you two, if that's alright."

"Sure, why not?" Ai said. "Lucy?"

"Umm, I don't know," Lucy hedged. "I don't think I should get involved."

"Why not? Come on, this is no time to act like a spoilsport. Say yes."

"Miss Evonridge," said the woman, "I understand. Look, I'll show you all the photos and let you delete any you don't like. How about it? Don't you want to appear in the _Monthly Undine_?"

"No, no. I'm very sorry, but I have to decline."

The woman looked genuinely confused. "But why? It's free publicity, it does Neo-Venezia and the profession good. It's not like we'll put you in a bad light—that would be the complete opposite of what we want to do."

"I wish I could explain, but still . . . I must refuse." Lucy's looked embarrassed.

"Oh, very well. Care for a little picture-taking, Miss Ai?"

Ai looked warily at the Single. "Maybe some other—"

"Hey!" Lucy clapped Ai on the shoulder. "You're not refusing because of me, are you? Go on, have fun."

"Sure?"

"Yeah."

Ai turned to the woman, who smiled. "Great! Now if you'll follow me, I think the beach looks like a wonderful place for a couple of pictures . . . ."

- - - -oOo- - - -

Much later, over dinner at the Aria Company office, Ai told Akari the whole story.

"And when we went home after you did," she said, "I asked her why she didn't want her picture taken, but all she said was that her teacher would get in big trouble."

Akari frowned. "She did?" For the rest of the evening Ai could see that she was disturbed, her eyes sometimes vacant as they completed the remainder of the chores.

Later that night, after the Aquamarine had gone home, Ai sat up in her bed, with President Aria in her lap. He idly batted the piece of noteboard that Ai held in her hands. Perhaps as a sign that there were no hard feelings, the woman had given both her and Lucy one: a namecard, with little silver letters on a blue background, bordered by a twinkling, sparkling border that magically rotated round the text.

"It must be difficult living in a house with people who have the same name as you," she remarked as she tossed the card onto her table. Lifting President Aria from her lap, she tucked him into bed and lay down beside him, head resting on one arm.

"Imagine that. Aria One, Aria Two, Aria Three," she said, poking him in the belly each time she said his name. She counted all the way to ten before letting the flustered cat alone. Aria raised a paw and pointed at himself.

"_Puipuinyu._"

"Yes, I know there's just the one and only President Aria," Ai agreed, petting his head. "Good night."

Ai crawled under the covers and closed her eyes. On her table, the namecard sparkled in the dim light, gracing the darkness with the name it bore.

_Kozue Amano XII  
Photographer and Writer_

_._

_._

_.  
_

**Author's Note:**_ Gerusalemme Liberata _is an epic poem by Torquato Tasso. Richard Wagner and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe make mention of it and its loss as a _gondolieri cantori_ motif, which was followed by the loss around the turn of the century of the tradition mentioned above.

Goethe_'s __Tagebuch _(diary): "Gondola, evening (lire) 3. Singer of Tasso 6 (lire)._" _Oct.6, 1786: "This song must expressly be ordered because it is not common as it was at one time, but it belongs to legends of the past, almost forgotten by now. I took my place in the gondola, by the light of the moon, one of the singers on the prow, the other at the stern; they immediately struck up their song, singing verse by verse, each trying to outdo the other. Stretched out on the beach of an island, on the bank of a canal, on the prow of a boat, their song is made to echo and, with their piercing voices (for the people admire strength above all), to reach as far as possible."

"The song spreads across the calm mirror of water. Another singer listens from afar to the melody, which he already knows. He understands the words and replies with the following verse; the first does the same again and so they go on, in such a way that one always echoes the other . . . In fact, the farther they are from one another, the more enchanting their songs . . . "

Wagner, letter to a friend (1882): " . . . The gondoliers call each other from afar. There is a feeling of beauty and rare nobility about it. The octaves of Tasso are no longer sung: but the melodies are still ancient ones, as ancient as Venice itself . . . "

Wagner, by the way, had a faithful gondolier called Ganasseta (Luigi Trevisan), whom he called "_suo amico, suo carrissimo amico_" (my friend, my dearest friend). When he bought cigars at the Piazza, he would always buy one for "_caro Luigi_." It was in Ganasseta's arms that Wagner breathed his last at the Ca' Vendramin Calergi in 1883, dying of a heart attack in the middle of giving orders for a gondola trip.

PS: Thanks for pointing out the errors - the original form of this chapter had only Alice present during the singing. However, that put too much emphasis on Lucy, so I added Akari. And didn't proofread enough, it seems.


	6. Concerning the Rain

Concerning the Rain

She was the dream again, and the setting sun colored the waters of the San Marco basin pink and purple and all in between. She ascended the same steps that Alicia had taken long ago and turned around. On the water before her, the white gondola bobbed gently as its lone passenger bowed.

"Thank you for all your hard work," the young woman said, her voice husky. Though she straightened, she kept her face averted, so that all Akari saw was the green hair.

Akari bowed in return and, mind lit by the twilight of half wakefulness, knew that the tears welling in her eyes were real. She felt their warmth as they trickled down her cheeks, felt her mouth open as she sobbed. But the knowledge didn't give her the power to cast off slumber; as a performer of the stage is bound to perform to the play's end, so did she act, turning away and walking down the pier, amidst the cheers and clapping of smiling onlookers, searching for someone. She found the faces of her friends in the crowd a comforting sight as her steps carried her away from her former life—Al and Aika, Woody and Alice, Alicia and her husband, each holding on to one of their children. Grandma and Antonio, the glassblowing apprentice and his master, they were there as well.

But _he_ was not there. It took a long time for Akari to reach the end of the quay, and by that time she had grown somewhat disappointed. Maybe he was in the crowd and she just couldn't see him. She paused momentarily before stepping onto the concrete dock, glancing down at the ground and gathering herself to smile and wave at her well-wishers and the members of the Gondola Association in their somber, dark-hued clothing.

When she looked up, she found the Piazetta utterly deserted, the winged lion and the crocodile on their columns reigning over her empty, silent surroundings. Startled, she looked around and confirmed her solitude; and when she looked back, she saw that the gondola was also gone, and beneath a dark sky the water was velvet blue and empty.

-oOo-

Opening her eyes, Akari found herself looking out the bedside window. The first flush of dawn was creeping into the sky, and somewhere outside a sparrow chirped. Wiping the wetness from her cheeks, she turned to her left. There, in a silver-gilt frame on her nightstand, was a picture of Akatsuki and herself, taken at the surprise party her friends had arranged for her on first anniversary as Prima. Afterwards he had taken her to dinner at a place called The Blue Glass on St. Erasmus. To this day, he still insisted it was just part of the celebration and nothing more—but she had found out more when Aika accidentally remarked afterward that he had gone to her for help in planning the evening.

"You?" Akari had laughed at the time. They were sitting at a table outside the Caffe Laveno, beside a white-canopied bandstand that, for the moment, was empty. "He went to you for help?"

"Well, what can I say? Maybe my charm and wit convinced him I was the right person to talk to." Aika puffed her coiffure with a hand.

"Or maybe there was no one else he could ask," suggested Alice, deadpan, from beside Aika.

Akari giggled as Aika cast dagger looks at Alice. The latter seemed mildly amused and waved a hand, forestalling an outburst.

"I'm sure Akatsuki was smart enough to realize that in a case like this a woman would be a better person to ask than a man. So he had to approach either you or me sometime, since we know Senior Akari well. He probably figured you were a better source of information."

Mollified, Aika subsided and they sipped their drinks. Akari called on a waiter to order another milk latte for President Aria. She then turned to Aika and wagged a finger.

"For shame, Aika. Conspiring against me."

"Hah! Turnabout's fair play, last I heard. I know Al asked you some questions about me before, don't deny it."

"I won't. But I thought you were only friends." Akari grinned, remembering the visit to a store that specialized in mounting photographs and a sweet, sweet picture of Aika hugging Al just outside a Gnome restaurant.

"Did I say anything to suggest otherwise?" Aika retorted, raising a fine brow as she looked sidelong at Akari, who in turn kept smiling. Both knew the Himeya heir was fooling no one, but why embarrass her with the truth when it was evident enough?

"We all ought to be in the same company, seeing how beneficial we are for each other."

"They'd never let us," Aika said in a low voice, sidling over to Akari.

"Eh? Why not?"

Aika's expression was conspiratorial and serious. "'Cause they know none of the other Primas would stand a chance. We'd totally own Neo-Venezia." Akari looked nonplussed at her, and she broke out into a wide grin.

"Aika!"

"It must be the sugar," said Alice.

"It must be," Akari agreed. "I thought my flightiness and your moodiness would prevent her from ever making such a remark." She smiled. "So thank you, Aika."

"Tsk! In truth, it would be that. But we're older now." Aika contemplated the dark liquid in her demitasse. "People change. The roads we were on met once, and now they run side by side. Who knows where they'll—argh!" She covered her face with a hand.

"What's wrong?" asked Alice, half rising from her seat.

"You made me say something embarrassing!"

Akari and Alice laughed.

The waiter returned with President Aria's latte, which the strange-eyed cat eagerly accepted. "I propose a toast, then," declared Alice, raising her cup.

The two other Primas held their own drinks. "To what?" asked Aika.

"To the ones whose roads run side by side. To friendship, and the world never ending!"

Aika chortled and Akari tittered, but they raised their cups all the same. "To friendship!" they chorused. "And the world never ending!"

"_Puinyu!_"

-oOo-

Akari sat up, lingered for a while at the window, scattering tidbits for the sparrow which had taken up residence in a nook under the eaves. She took a shower and dressed. Breakfast was a cup of tea and two slabs of bread slathered with orange marmalade. She decided on a scarf—it was beginning to get nippy in the mornings, though winter was still two Manhome months away.

She almost always walked to Aria Company. At this time she loved the quiet of the morning, the pit-pat of her shoes on the _calle_, the city beginning to bustle as the sky changed color from deep purple to yellow to unblemished blue. Back on Manhome she had often imagined what the sky on Aqua looked like, and now she knew. It was an ever-changing jewel, full of colors too brilliant for any image to capture, loaded with feelings too evanescent for any record to contain.

Even the gray of a rainy heaven was something to be appreciated, she thought as she opened the front door and stepped into the morning light. It made the flowers glow all the more brightly. Rain-wet leaves glistened with a newness that made the world feel young and eager to burst into life. For centuries the rain had brought people together in Manhome, in shops and houses and under umbrellas, and would conceivably continue to do so, even here on another planet. And were it not for the rain, and she and Akatsuki getting caught out in the open in the _Giardini Pubblici _. . . .

People change, Aika had said.

-oOo-

"Morning, Ai dearest."

"Morning." Up and down went the skillet in the hand. "Hope you like pancakes."

"So long as there's butter, cream, and strawberry." Akari took the little bowls of said ingredients from the counter and carried them to the dining table. "I tried peanut butter and chocolate once, but I think that's more of a dessert dish than something for breakfast."

"Peanut butter and chocolate on pancakes? I've never thought of that."

"When I mentioned that to Aika, she looked at me like I had a screw loose, so I kept it to myself."

Ai shrugged. "I honestly don't understand," she remarked as she slid the finished pancake onto a growing pile on a serving plate. "If you think about it, a pancake's not much more than a round of bread."

"People have been serving griddle cakes of one kind or another since time immemorial," said Akari as she stood beside Ai. "It's the tradition of the thing, I suppose. Woah, that should be enough for us, don't you think?" She gestured at the tall stack slightly quivering on the plate.

"Ah." Ai cast a momentary look back. "He said he wanted a little more than usual. Right there, on his desk, all typed out."

Akari smiled. "Really? That I've got to see."

The cooking finished, Ai and Akari called President Aria, who came bounding down from Ai's room. Akari seated him as Ai poured the smiling-face kettle, and everyone sat down and ate.

"Busy day today in school," said the Pair as she wolfed down her breakfast. "I might be back a little late. Research at the library."

"Okay, then. Got your key?"

Ai nodded and took a sip of barley tea, then stuck her tongue out as she scalded herself. "Eeewch!"

"Careful." Akari waited as Ai doused her tongue with a glass of cool milk. "Speaking of ice-cold, it's getting a bit frosty, isn't it?"

"I noticed."

"We have two customers this afternoon. I suppose I could clean out the fireplace and make sure we have enough firewood afterwards."

"Oh, would you?"

"No problem." Akari winked at her young charge. "Leave it to me."

-oOo-

Ai left soon afterward, taking President Aria with her on a morning walk that they felt would do the both of them good. Akari took their customers out and returned by three. She was filling in some entries in their records when a shadow fell upon the table. The Aquamarine looked up.

A tall man with black hair tied up in a ponytail stood in front of the counter, gazing quietly at her.

"Yo."

Akari smiled. "Well, this is unexpected. Come in, Mr. Salamander," she said. "Like some hot coffee?"

"No thanks," Akatsuki Izumo replied, bowing slightly. He came in by the side door and approached the desk. "What's that you're doing?"

"Just updating the schedule." Akari straightened and stretched. "Speaking of which, I promised Ai I'd clean out the fireplace and get wood."

"I'll help."

Akari looked up at him. "You didn't come down from your lair to get all sooty, did you?"

"Of course not." Akatsuki placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. "But I'll never forgive you if you smudge your uniform, since it represents Aria Company, Alicia's keepsake."

"Don't worry, I'm an expert at keeping it clean. For the company's sake, of course."

Akatsuki smiled. "Of course."

-oOo-

Two hours later, Akari stood on the stern of a black gondola, sculling wordlessly towards the mainland. Akatsuki sat on the _sental_, arms crossed, a scowl on his face.

"I can't believe you're still mad," he said without looking at her.

"I'm not angry."

"Yes you are. You can't hide it from me, Momiko."

"Well, I can't help it. I wish you'd listen to me when I say I'll do something myself."

"But it's such a little thing!" Akatsuki threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "I'm sorry, okay? I-I just can't stand being on the sidelines."

"Just because you think it's a little thing doesn't mean it's a little thing for somebody else. And anyway," said Akari in a conciliatory way, "if I were really mad at you, I wouldn't have brought you with me. Thanks for helping me with the fireplace."

Maybe he was being a little bullheaded, Akatsuki thought. If there was one thing he had noticed about Akari after Alicia had left Aria Company, it was her desire to be independent in many things. It was as if she had something to prove.

Akatsuki then thought of Aria Company and his own career. He was just a Salamander among others, but Akari was the only Prima to follow in Alicia's footsteps; her position was more difficult than his. Chastened by the realization, he leaned back on the seat. "You know," he said after a few minutes of listening to the steady sound of Akari's rowing and watching the forested mainland getting nearer, "this is the first time I've gone gathering firewood with you."

"Huh? I guess . . . you're right."

A few minutes later found them tying up at an old wooden pier. They got off, Akatsuki carrying a large straw basket, and Akari led them up the slope, shaded by the canopies of many trees.

"Just pick out any nice-sized branches on the ground," Akari instructed. A minute later she had gathered a load in her arms and heard the huffing sound of Akatsuki's voice.

"How's . . . this?"

Akari turned. "That's too large. It's probably still wet inside." She chuckled.

Akatsuki _woofed_ as he let go of the tree limb. "W-what's so funny?" he asked as he stood up, smiling himself.

"I'm sorry," Akari said. "Your face . . . ."

"W-what? Do I have a smudge on it or something?"

His increasing consternation only served to change her chuckle into a laugh. "Sorry, sorry. You just looked so funny carrying that log, somehow . . . ." She wiped her eye.

Now a little needs to be said about Akatsuki. When he begrudgingly applied for advice to his least favorite of the three Primas, he nevertheless listened carefully to her. It was a trying task—the first thing the Himeya scion did was laugh in his face (startling the other customers of the little pastry shop they were in) and ask, "Why is pleasing Akari so important to you, Pony-boy? You're starting to like her, hmm?"

That naturally precipitated a spat, but Akatsuki humbled himself and said, "I must look after her. It's because of Aria Company, of course—a valuable and much-loved part of Neo-Venezia. And seeing as she doesn't seem to have—" he cleared his throat "—much in the way of male friends, I thought getting along with her would be the best way to provide assistance. Don't you think so?"

Aika, still skeptical, said that he should be straightforward about himself. There was nothing worse, she said, than a dishonest person. Akatsuki agreed inwardly and kept her words in mind; what harm could be there in voicing out the truth? This seemed an opportune time to practice such a course of action, because Momiko did look cute smiling the way she did.

So he said, "You have a nice smile, Momiko. Just like the time when we were had to take shelter in that gazebo in the Public Gardens—"

It baffled him mightily when the Aquamarine stared at him, then whirled around with her load of kindling and marched back down to the gondola.

He hurried after her, but the branches kept falling out of the straw basket he bore and he had to stop to pick them up. By the time he got to the landing, Akari had deposited her bundle inside the gondola and was waiting for him on the stern, sweep in hand.

"I think we've got enough," she said brightly, "don't you? We should head back before it gets dark."

"Akari."

"Mmm?"

"Come down, please." Akatsuki extended his hand. "_Undine_ feel most secure on the water, because they get their power from it. I'm just an Ukijima man unused to tree roots and hills." Quietly he added, "I'd consider it a great favor if you'd talk to me here, on solid ground."

With great reluctance Akari laid her sweep down and stepped off the boat. She slowly put her hand in Akatsuki's, her eyes not leaving his as he led her off the creaking wood and up the hillside a bit, underneath the shade of a birch.

"Akari—" Akatsuki gulped, seeing the expression on her face mirroring the turmoil in his heart. "Akari, I wish you'd tell me what's wrong. Ever since that day in the Public Gardens, you . . . you act this way. Like you're afraid of me or something. Where's the Momiko I knew before then, the carefree one who'd run around being amazed at everything, from the cut of my jacket to a bunch of flowers growing on a hillside?"

"She's right in front of you, Akatsuki," the Aquamarine replied, her face reddening. "She's confused. She's hoping you'd understand her situation. She wants to tell you so much but can't because she isn't sure she'd be able to say the right thing." A pair of pleading eyes looked at him. "Please, Akatsuki . . . please don't say anything that I might hold in my heart."

It was a long while before Akatsuki could muster the will to reply. "I do understand. I guess I do. I'm sorry if she felt like I was pressuring her into something—but she does have a nice smile."

The expression on her face, parts relief and sadness, threatened to overwhelm his reserve.

"I'm sorry, Akari."

"For what?"

"Causing you such unhappiness."

"It's okay. I'm doing the same thing to you, aren't I? I apologize for that."

"Then we can call it even?"

Akari looked thoughtful, then gave a subdued grin. "Yup."

They shook hands on it, falling silent as they loaded the remaining firewood into the gondola. Akatsuki insisted on checking the whole caboodle for termites, causing Akari to laugh at him.

"I can assure you, Mr. Salamander, that if shipworms have a hard time munching on our gondolas, termites should be no problem at all."

Akatsuki favored her with his customary scowl and shouldered the last bundle into the boat. Attempting to board the gondola with a rough step expressing his displeasure, he nearly fell overboard when it swayed under him. Flailing his arms, he plopped down onto the _sental_ in an undignified heap.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" he snapped at Akari, who still stood looking at him from the pier, trying unsuccessfully to stifle her giggles with both hands. "Let's go, let's go! Who knows, you might find something interesting and we'll take forever getting back and I'll miss the cable car."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Salamander!" Akari said, saluting him. She walked up to the gondola and took up her sweep, untying the craft as did so. "A journey of a million miles begins with a single step," quoted the Aquamarine, daintily stepping on board. "Ours begins now."

She deftly turned the gondola around and began to make for the open water of the lagoon. Now and then a breeze tickled her cheeks and played with her hair.

"This is a nice place for relaxing," remarked Akatsuki, without looking back at her.

"Think so?"

"Yeah, sometimes I get tired of all the hubbub in Ukijima. You don't get smells like these up there."

"Hmm. Maybe one day I'll take you to a place Alicia brought me to. We could have a picnic there, if you like."

He twisted around. "Where?"

She winked. "It's a secret."

"Hmph. I might have known."

As he turned round, Akari looked down at him. The expanse of Neo-Venezia's lagoon spread before them; to the west, a tiny _vaporetti_ was churning towards the mainland, leaving wakes on the green water. It gave two short blasts of its horn, and Akari waved. "Hi!"

Akatsuki sniffed. "They can't even hear you."

"Does it matter?"

"Oh, you never change."

"Well . . . I wouldn't know about that. People change all the time. I had the courage to take a long journey on my own, to come here. You learned how to command people, or in Aika's words, to be a slave driver."

"Hey! Don't go ruining my good mood by mentioning that monster girl."

Akari chuckled. "Now I wonder if I could ever do that again. Akatsuki, what if you had found out earlier than you did that Miss Alicia was about to get married? Would you have had the courage to pursue her still?"

"Well . . . it depends. Before . . . I would've said yes. But now . . . if she was happy with him, I guess . . . I'd be happy too. I mean, why would I go and spoil her happiness?"

"Love can be a powerful and selfish thing."

"I know that. Don't I know it." Something in Akatsuki's voice caught Akari's attention. Anger? Sadness? Disappointment? Or all three?

"You were crying at her retirement and at her wedding."

"What is this, an inquisition?" the long-haired man burst out. "Who wouldn't? You were crying too, if I remember correctly."

"Oh, yeah."

"Tsk. Like Gachapen said, you space out too much."

Akari smiled sheepishly. "It isn't like I can do much about that."

"I envy you sometimes. I enter a room, and it's just a room. You'd find a dozen things to be amazed about it in five minutes flat, I bet."

The Aquamarine let a minute pass without replying. "Am I _that_ terrible?" she then asked quietly.

"What? I didn't mean it that way." Akatsuki flushed. "You sure make a guy think carefully about his choice of words." He happened to glance at the receding shoreline. "Hey, what's that?"

"What?" Akari turned to follow his gaze.

"I thought I saw someone standing near that hill." He leaned over and squinted.

"Where?"

Akatsuki pointed. "There. It's gone now."

"I don't see anything," said Akari, "and as far as I know, no one lives near this part of the mainland. Everyone wants to be in Neo-Venezia, where the action is."

"Maybe my eyes are playing tricks. It must be the light. Or it might be a ghost."

"Hey, don't say that!" Akari protested.

"What's this? Don't tell me you're afraid of old wives' tales."

"There's more truth to them than you know, Akatsuki."

"What are you talking about?" Akatsuki continued to smile, but he was unnerved by Akari's apparent sincerity.

"There's Casanova in the Carnevale."

"Played by actors."

"The seven wonders of Neo-Venezia."

"A story made up by those with nothing better to do." Akatsuki laughed heartily. "And anyway, we're on the water." He thought back to that figure on the shore, and snuffed out a tiny flash of dread. She couldn't be right. Those were just children's stories.

"Who says there aren't any ghosts in the water? Remember all the people who died when the Black Plague hit Venice on Manhome. Some of the sick were on ships, and when they died they just pitched the bodies into the water because the cemeteries were full and there was no one to bury them anyway . . . ."

Akatsuki looked back at Akari to scoff and rebuff her, but she wasn't even looking at him. Instead she gazed out at the lagoon, and her hair and beret cast shadows on her face. She had stopped sculling.

"And there were accidents too. Back on Manhome, a _vaporetto_ once collided with two gondolas in a fog, sending them to the bottom. All the people were rescued, save a little girl." She turned to him, and her eyes were distant, unfocused, dark green in the light thrown off the water. "Her sister was approached by her ghost in a dream, telling her where her clothes were. But unfortunately her body was never found. They say that sometimes a coffin can be seen floating in the water between San Michele and Murano, lit by candles so that passing ships won't strike it . . . ."

"Alright, you've made your point!" Akatsuki protested. He felt exposed under the cloudy sky, alone and vulnerable, expecting skeletal arms to suddenly reach out of the water and drag him to a murky doom. Then he found Akari looking at him with a small smile.

"Gotcha."

"Momiko—" he began peevishly.

"That was on Manhome. I'm surprised you didn't pick the hint up faster. Anyway, don't dismiss those bedtime stories out of hand," The Aquamarine shook her head. "All stories started out from some grain of truth."

Akatsuki became lost in thought, puzzled by her earnestness on the matter. Offering nothing more, Akari continued to row towards the city.

-oOo-

"I had a dream this morning," the woman with the pink hair said as they neared the northern end of the Grand Canal.

"About what?"

"My retirement." Akari told the black-haired man about it, leaving out the part about her searching for him among the crowd.

"And how does that make you feel?"

"Scared, because I don't know what it means."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that for a long time. Right?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Of course. Anyway, not all _undine_ have that kind of a send-off."

"Ah, but not all _undine_ are from Aria Company." Akatsuki raised a finger, wagging it. "Have a little more faith in yourself, Momiko."

Akari smiled in acknowledgement. "I remember when Miss Athena formally retired, it was just a few of us inside the _Procuratie Nuove."_ The gray-walled building with its many columns and figures formed one side of St. Mark's Square. "A lot more came to her 'Farewell Concert' than to that."

"Just like they swarmed her performances last month, eh? Good thing we got tickets, or we would've had to wait until the last shows."

"Yeah."

"How is Alice, by the way?"

"Oh, she's really happy her surprise worked on Miss Athena, even though she lost her voice afterward."

"Yeah, poor girl. It was a very busy time for all of us. I almost missed the show. Well, how is she now?"

"She's got her voice back, though she's stopped trying to sing. I think she's getting ready to go with Miss Athena over to the other side of Aqua for a ski vacation."

"You mean Olympia?"

Akari cocked an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"Where else would you find a ski resort on a planet like this? You're not joining her?"

Shaking her head, Akari replied in the negative. "I'm afraid it's business before pleasure."

"Aria Company won't collapse if you take a small trip, I'm sure. You've never once taken a vacation since Alicia left. It'd do you good."

"I'll keep that in mind."

-oOo-

"Well, we're coming near San Marco Square. Do you want me to let you off here?"

"No, Aria Company, please. We've still to offload the firewood." He tapped at the gondola's burden with his right foot.

"You're too kind. I can do it myself, you know." Akari looked up at Ukijima. "You might not make the last ride back home today."

"I'll live. Dumb brother of mine isn't in town, but at least he gave me the keys to his apartment."

They rounded the bustling Piazza, watching the people going about their business. All sorts of watercraft plied the lagoon, coming and going, powered by oar or sail or motor. A couple of _undine_ waved at them; Akari returned the gesture, smiling each time.

"It's funny how you know more people than I do," Akatsuki remarked, quiet and reflective. "And yet I've lived here all my life."

"You said yourself you rarely come down here," Akari replied. "And I bet there are tons of people up there in Ukijima I don't know—the people you work with, your friends, your family."

Akatsuki smiled, looking back at her. "That's what I like about you."

"What?"

Akatsuki just kept smiling.

"Whaaat?"

"Let it be my secret, Momiko. A man has his own secrets." Even though the Aquamarine harried him about it all the way to Aria Company, he refused to speak more about the matter.

-oOo-

The firewood was stacked in short order, and they had a simple vegetable stew for dinner. The four of them—Akari, Akatsuki, Ai, and President Aria—talked well into the night. Then Akatsuki excused himself and placed a call to the floating island from the wall phone. He hung up and turned to the others.

"Guess I have to go now. I have an early start tomorrow."

"Would you like me to take you to your brother's?" offered Akari.

"No, I have to pass by a few places," Akatsuki said. "Besides, I'm sure of the way only from the Piazza. If you dropped me off somewhere, I'd probably get lost."

She walked with him as far as outside the old Metropoli. Other people were also out on the Riva degli Schiavoni, passing them by as they halted on the bridge near the hotel.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Akari asked. "It can get pretty dark away from the tourist areas and the last thing I want to hear tomorrow is you being fished out of a canal."

"Relax." Akatsuki waved her concern away. "I live up there, and falling from the sidewalks there—well, you see what I'm getting at. You'd better go now. Ai is waiting for you."

Akari felt loath to leave, and she was pretty sure why. "You're not going to share that secret with me?"

"No."

"Hohe, suit yourself. Good night." She began to turn away.

"Ah, but tell me one thing."

Akari paused in mid-stride, looking sidelong at him. "What?"

"That day in the gardens . . . would you rather that we . . . had never gotten caught in the rain?"

Akari lifted her head up to the starry heavens and considered. "No." She smiled shyly. "I'm glad we got caught." In a flurry of white she turned and left him standing on the bridge, looking into the cool night after her.


End file.
